DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION 


BULLETIN,  1919,  No.  59 


SOME 

PHASES  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS 
IN  LATIN  AMERICA 


WALTER  A.  MONTGOMERY 

SPECIALIST  IN  FOREIGN"EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEMS 
BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION 


[Advance  Sheets  from  the  Biennial  Survey  of  Education,  1916-1918] 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1920 


ADDITIONAL  COPIES 

OF  TSIS   PUBLICATION    MAT   BE   PROCURED  FROM 

THE   SUPERINTENDENT   OF  DOCUMENTS 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

WASHINGTON,  D.   C. 

AT 

10  CENTS  PER  COPY 


SOME  PHASES  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  IN  LATIN" 

AMERICA. 

r.y  WALTER  A.  MONTGOMERY, 
Specialist  in   Foreign  Educational  Systems,  Bureau  of  Education. 


CONTENTS. — Central  America  :  Practical  education ;  Guatemala ;  Salvador ;  Honduras ; 
Costa  Rica ;  Nicaragua  ;  Panama — British  Guiana :  New  school  regulation — Argen- 
tina :  Preliminary  ;  illiteracy ;  report  of  National  Council  of  Education  ;  progress  of 
education  in  the  Provinces ;  changes  under  the  projected  law  of  1918 ;  secondary  edu- 
cation ;  technical  education ;  normal-school  training ;  higher  education — Brazil : 
Vocational  education — Chile :  Preliminary  ;  illiteracy  ;  primary  education  ;  secondary 
education  ;  training  of  teachers ;  technical  education — Uruguay  :  General  introduc- 
tion ;  primary  education,  public  and  private ;  rural  schools ;  medical  inspection  of 
schools ;  secondary  education  ;  commercial  education ;  training  of  teachers ;  higher 
education — Venezuela. 


PRACTICAL  EDUCATION  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  aspects  of  the  school  situation  in 
Central  America  and  Panama  is  the  important  position  occupied 
by  commercial  and  industrial  education  in  the  courses  of  study  of 
institutions.  Public  men  and  teachers  in  Guatemala  Sal- 


vador, Honduras,  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica,  and  Panama  have  taken 
into  account  the  need  of  offering  to  the  new  generation  an  educa- 


which  shall  be  completely  practical,  with  the  purpose  of  turn- 
ing the  thoughts  and  energies  of  all  the  youth  to  fruitful  service  of 
their  country. 

The  teaching  of  arts  and  crafts,  as  well  as  that  of  commerce  and 
agriculture,  was  formerly  not  begun,  as  in  the  United  States,  upon 
the  student's  entering  the  secondary  school,  thougH  there  has  for 
some  time  been  a  movement  to  make  such  instruction  a  part  of  the 
work  of  the  advanced  classes  in  the  primary  schools,  to  be  continued 
iu  the  liceo  and  the  normal  schools. 

This  universal  interest  in  practical  lines  of  education  is  a  striking 
"vindication  of  the  influences  and  tendencies  now  at  work  in  Central 
America.    In  the  different  countries  included  under  this  designation 
fiere  are  schools  and  academies,  workshops  and  laboratories,  intended 
For  the  practical  education  of  the  student  body.    When  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  introduction  of  practical  and  industrial  education  in 
the  school  regime  of  Central  America  is  a  matter  of  the  past  few 
years,  the  progress  realized  is  regarded  as  highly  satisfactory.    The 
rapid  increase  of  the  commerce  of  Central  America,  the  improvement 

3 


4  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

in  the  means  of  intcrcommunicationvthe  travels  of  its  people  abroad, 
the  influence  of  foreign  elements  in  its  territory,  and  the  various 
interests  thus  awakened  have  aroused  in  the  interior  of  the  Republics 
composing  it  the  belief  that  national  greatness  in  modern  times  must 
rest  upon  economic  and  industrial  foundations.  The  influx  of  for- 
eign capital  and  the  consequent  establishment  of  powerful  industrial 
enterprises  have  likewise  emphasized  the  necessity  of  training  men 
for  work  in  such  enterprises.  The  introduction  of  modern  ma- 
chinery, the  increase  of  the  different  forms  of  the  application  of 
steam,  the  adoption  of  the  inventions  intended  to  gather  up  the 
results  of  labor,  a»d  numerous  similar  influences  have  given  rise 
to  a  tremendous  demand  in  this  part  of  the  continent  for  skilled  and 
reliable  mechanics.  Central  America  has  thus  addressed  itself  with 
enthusiasm  to  the  task  of  training  the  children  of  its  schools  for  the 
activities  of  the  present  day. 

The  capitals,  other  important  cities,  and  even  many  small  towns 
have  schools  devoted  to  practical  education,  generally  provided  with 
buildings  and  equipment  well  adapted  to  this  end.  Honduras,  for 
example,  has  founded  a  school  for  scientific  instruction  in  the  culti- 
vation and  preparation  of  tobacco  and  for  the  manufacture  of  cigars 
and  cigarettes  in  the  tobacco  district  around  Danli.  In  several 
Provinces  of  the  same  Republic,  and  in  Panama,  where  agriculture 
is  subordinate,  the  Governments  have  founded  schools  for  training 
pupils  to  weave  hats  and  other  objects. 

The  more  generalized  industrial  schools  are  those  of  arts  and  crafts 
and  the  so-called  practical  schools  for  boys.  Their  organization 
presents  marked  differences.  In  some  of  the  countries  named  there 
exist  schools  that  receive  pupils  either  as  full  or  half  time  boarders, 
and  offer  night  courses  as  the  situation  demands.  In  all  these  in- 
struction is  free.  The  Government  generally  offers  a  certain  number 
of  scholarships  in  the  boarding  schools  for  pupils  approved  by  the 
different  Departments  or  Provinces  of  the  country.  Tools,  instru- 
ments, and  supplies  used  in  the  schools  are  provided  by  the  Govern- 
ment. In  return  the  school  exacts  of  such  students  certain  services 
and  thereby  carries  out  certain  work  that  represents  a  partial  reim- 
bursement for  the  amount  spent  upon  their  maintenance.  This  is 
the  case  with  the  schools  of  arts  and  crafts  in  Honduras  and 
Panama.  Some  small  schools  of  this  class  are  maintained  by  means 
of  the  labor  they  carry  on  for  private  individuals  and  by  the  sale  of 
the  products  they  turn  out. 

These  industrial  schools  are  generally  of  two  kinds:  (1)  Those  in 
which  the  training  in  commercial  subjects  and  in  arts  and  crafts  con- 
stitutes part  of  the  regular  course  of  study  and  (2)  those  devoted 
exclusively  to  the  teaching  of  arts  and  crafts. 


CENTRAL   AMERICA.  O 

(1 )  In  those  of  the  first  class  the  pupils  study  the  ordinary  subjects 
prescribed  by  the  department  of  public  instruction  and  devote  only 
several  hours  weekly  to  arts  and  crafts.     This  class  in  its  turn  in- 
cludes two  groups  of  institutions.    To  be  admitted  to  those  of  the 
first  group  the  pupils  must  know  how  to  read  and  write  and  apply 
the  elementary  rules  of  arithmetic.    During  the  entire  school  year 
instruction  is  given  in  Spanish,  geography,  history,  and  arithmetic. 
The  practical  schools  for  girls  and  boys  are  generally  of  this  kind, 
being  especially  numerous  in  Guatemala  and  Honduras.    The  schools 
conducted  by  the  Christian  Brothers  in  Nicaragua  are  also  of  this 
type.    The  duration  of  studies  is  from  three  to  five  years,  a  half  day 
being  devoted  to  the  classes  in  the  ordinary  subjects  of  primary  edu- 
cation and  the  other  half  to  practical  work.     In  the  second  group  are 
comprised  various  institutions  which  require  certificates  from   the 
higher  elementary  schools,  such  as  the  liceo  and  the  higher  colegio 
for  women  in  Costa  Rica,  the  National  Institute  in   Salvador,  the 
Central  National  Institute  for  Boys  in  Guatemala,  and  the  normal 
schools  in  these  countries  and  in  Honduras. 

(2)  Of  the  special  institutions  which  constitute  the  second  cate- 
gory, there  are  to  be  noted  two  prominent  instances  in  the  schools 
of  arts  and  crafts  in  Panama  and  in  Honduras.    In  organization  and 
purposes  they  are  schools  of  mechanical  arts,  and  not  schools    of 
manual  training.    Their  workshops  have  not  been  established  to  im- 
part general  notions  of  manual  arts  or  a  general  apprenticeship,  but 
to  train  the  pupils  from  entrance  upon  the  line  of  education  chosen 
by  themselves.    In  these  schools  are  taught  carpentry,  tanning,  shoe- 
making,  blacksmithing,  cabinetmaking,  electricity,  installation  and 
management  of  machinery,  mechanics,  printing  and  bookbinding, 
telegraphy,  etc.     All  workshops  in  such  schools  are  well  equipped 
with  machinery  and  tools. 

All  that  has  been  said  in  regard  to  modern  educational  tendencies 
and  influences  to  which  boys  are  subject  in  the  countries  mentioned 
can  be  extended,  though  in  less  degree,  to  the  girls  and  young  women. 
Within  the  past  few  years  women's  sphere  of  action  has  steadily 
been  enlarged,  and  has  come  to  include  not  only  teaching  but  va- 
rious employments  in  shops  and  mercantile  establishments.  Within 
the  next  few  years  their  instruction  must  be  taken  into  account  in 
schools  of  domestic  training,  vocational  schools,  practical  schools, 
a.nd  the  technical  colegios.  The  organization  and  range  of  these 
institutions  does  not  differ  materially  from  those  for  boys.  The  voca- 
tional school  for  girls  is  essentially  a  school  of  arts  and  crafts  in 
which  the  pupils  devote  themselves  from  entrance  to  the  study  of  a 
special  line,  such  as  dressmaking,  embroidery,  millinery,  and,  in  cer- 
tain schools,  cooking,  washing  and  ironing,  etc.  A  certificate  of  pro- 
ficiency is  granted  them  upon  the  completion  of  certain  assigned 


6  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

courses.  The  other  schools  for  girls  before  mentioned  combine  gen- 
eral subjects  with  the  special  apprenticeship  in  crafts  upon  which 
they  enter  as  soon  as  they  reach  the  higher  classes  of  the  primary 
school  and  which  they  continue  into  the  high  school  and  the  normal 
school. 

GUATEMALA. 

The  type  of  industrial  education  that  prevails  in  Guatemala  is 
the  combination  of  general  studies  with  special  instruction  in  the 
arts  and  trades  given  in  the  practical  schools  for  girls  and  for  boys. 
There  also  exists  in  the  capital  a  school  of  arts  and  crafts  for 
women  where  instruction  is  given  at  the  same  time  in  the  subjects  of 
ordinary  instruction.  In  the  departments  of  manual  arts  which 
are  largely,  but  not  exclusively,  attended  by  boys,  are  taught  theo- 
retical and  practical  blacksmithing,  carpentry,  printing,  bookbind- 
ing and  weaving^  besides  geography,  history,  botany,  chemistry, 
zoology,  geology,  drawing,  and  Spanish  language  and  literature. 
In  the  schools  of  Guatemala  much  attention  is  given  subjects  of  a 
practical  nature,  with  the  purpose  of  training  competent  workmen 
and  artisans.  There  also  exist  in  this  country  a  National  School  of 
Commerce,  situated  in  the  capital,  and  a  Practical  School  of  Com- 
merce, at  Quezaltenango.  In  both  cities  there  are  schools  of  agri- 
culture which  admit  to  their  first-year  courses  the  pupils  of  the  first 
year  of  the  central  normal  schools.  The  capital  possesses  also  a 
school  of  telegraphy,  recently  founded  with  the  view  to  installing  in 
it  a  special  wireless  station. 

SALVADOR. 

Arts  and  crafts  for  women,  commercial  subjects  and  mechanical 
arts,  are  generally  taught  in  Salvador  in  the  public  schools,  though 
their  incorporation  in  the  courses  of  instruction  is  comparatively 
recent.  Many  prominent  teachers  of  the  country  have  taken  the 
pains  to  spread  abroad  the  appreciation  of  the  necessity  of  "  enlarg- 
ing the  educational  sphere  of  the  State,  and  opening  to  the  youth 
and  to  workmen  schools  where  they  may  acquire  practical  knowledge 
of  the  sciences  and  the  arts  and  by  these  means  may  contribute  to  the 
advancement  of  general  intelligence  in  the  country."  In  compliance 
with  these  ideas  the  Government  has  founded  in  Salvador  a  National 
School  of  Graphic  Arts  aiming  "  to  aid  the  youth  of  Salvador  to  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  of  a  practical  nature,  and  to  put  it  in  a 
position  to  be  successful  in  the  economic  struggles  which  are  the 
most  important  signs  of  the  modern  age."  In  this  school  the  pre- 
ference is  given  to  the  teaching  of  physics,  mechanics,  drawing, 
printing,  lithographing,  carving,  bookbinding,  and  technical  teleg- 
raphy and  telephoning.  Night  courses  are  also  given  in  this  school. 


CENTRAL   AMERICA.  7 

In  consequence  of  the  public  sentiment  above  mentioned,  there  has 
been  opened  in  the  National  Institute  of  Salvador  a  eour.se  in  com- 
mercial and  economic  subjects  lasting  three  years.  This  course 
comprises  the  study  of  various  modern  languages,  commercial  law, 
political  economy,  industrial  chemistry,  commercial  geography,  book- 
keeping, stenography  and  typewriting.  The  pupils  in  this  school  are 
required  to  work  several  hours  daily  for  a  period  in  the  different 
ministerial  departments  before  graduation.  Salvador  also  estab- 
lished in  1913  a  school  of  agriculture,  with  a  department  of  animal 
husbandry.  Two  years  later  there  was  established  the  Technical- 
Practical  Colegio  for  Girls,  in  which  instruction  in  crafts  for  women 
is  combined  with  that  in  general  subjects. 

HONDURAS. 

Industrial  instruction  has  attained  great  importance  in  Honduras. 
The  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts  of  Tegucigalpa  concerns  itself  chiefly 
with  products  in  wood  and  the  metals  and  is  steadily  training  arti- 
sans and  mechanics.  There  likewise  exists  in  this  city  the  national 
automobile  school  managed  by  the  Government.  For  some  years 
there  has  been  in  operation  in  Siguatepeque  a  school  of  English  and 
of  arts  and  crafts,  in  which  are  taught  fiber  weaving,  carpentry, 
dressmaking,  and  embroidery.  In  the  normal  schools  and  in  the  two 
colegios  students  may  choose  between  the  commercial  courses  and 
those  relating  to  arts  and  crafts.  In  1915  was  established  a  technical 
practical  school  for  girls,  where  courses  in  science  and  in  crafts  for 
women  are  offered  parallel  with  the  subjects  belonging  to  the  primary 
schools. 

COSTA    RICA. 

Costa  Rica  is  another  of  the  Central  American  countries  where 
practical  instruction  is  combined  with  general.  Five  institutions 
of  higher  grade  and  the  vocational  schools  for  women  have  well- 
equipped  workshops,  laboratories,  kitchens,  and  laundries.  Of  all 
Central  American  States,  Costa  Rica  gives  perhaps  most  attention  to 
this  special  branch  of  instruction.  It  is  noteworthy  that  manual  arts 
and  domestic  science  are  uniformly  taught  in  the  secondary  schools 
conjointly  with  the  literary  and  purely  scientific  subjects. 

NICARAGUA. 

In  Nicaragua  manual  arts  form  part  of  the  general  instruction,  as 
has  been  seen  in  the  case  of  the  normal  schools  conducted  by  the 
Christian  Brothers.  Girls  receive  practical  instruction  in  the  normal 
schools.  Some  years  ago  there  was  established  a  special  school  for 
the  training  of  telegraph  and  telephone  operators. 


8  BIENNIAL   SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1016-1918. 

PANAMA. 

Like  Guatemala  and  Honduras,  Panama  lias  devoted  special  atten- 
tion to  industrial  training.  The  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts  of  the 
City  of  Panama  is  one  of  the  largest  and  best  equipped  of  its  kind. 
It  is  essentially  a  school  for  artisans  and  possesses  sections  of  elec- 
tricity, carpentry,  cabinetmaking,  printing  and  bookbinding,  carving, 
foundry  work,  etc.,  its  principal  object  being  to  train  men  for  the 
separate  industrial  branches. 

Panama  also  has  a  vocational  school  for  girls  in  which  a  year's 
instruction  is  given  in  telegraphy,  one  in  laundry  work,  two  in  dress- 
making and  embroidery,  two  in  shorthand,  two  in  cooking,  two  in 
millinery  and  flower  work. 

It  has  likewise  a  school  of  agriculture,  in  which  is  given  a  three 
years'  course,  for  which  the  Government  offers  30  scholarships  to 
youths  approved  by  local  authorities.  The  Government  has  also 
founded  from  time  to  time  specialized  schools  in  the  interior,  with! 
the  object  of  encouraging  agriculture  or  some  other  industry,  such 
as  that  of  the  manufacture  of  Panama  hats.  Like  Honduras,  Panama 
devotes  the  greatest  attention  to  special  industrial  schools. 

For  the  furtherance  of  commercial  education  in  Central  and  South 
America  a  Pan  American  College  of  Commerce,  to  be  located  at  the 
City  of  Panama,  is  projected,  under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  Southern 
Commercial  Congress  of  the  United  States  and  the  Government  of 
the  Republic  of  Panama.  The  active  support  of  the  countries  of  th^ 
two  Americas  is  to  be  sought,  and  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  be  opened 
on  January  1, 1921,  the  quadricentennial  year  of  the  City  of  Panama, 
the  first  city  to  be  founded  by  Europeans  in  the  Western  Hemisphere. 
The  college  is  designed  to  train  the  youth  of  the  two  continents  in 
practical  courses  of  commerce,  shipping,  banking,  and  international 
trade  relations  generally. 


NEW  SCHOOL  REGULATIONS  IN  BRITISH  GUIANA. 

The  last  report  of  the  director  of  primary  instruction  in  British 
Guiana  outlines  a  new  regulation  for  the  common  schools.  In  many 
of  its  parts  it  includes  novel  measures  of  school  organization  which 
are  of  interest  as  suggestions  to  other  South  American  States  for 
similar  action.  The  regulations  relate  to  the  classification  of  schools. 
the  minimum  period  of  attendance,  the  age  limit  of  pupils,  the  occu- 
pations of  pupils  after  leaving  school,  school  gardens,  etc.  As  an 
instance  of  its  stringent  character,  the  regulation  decrees  that  when 
any  school  ceases  to  conform  to  certain  conditions  with  regard  to 
building,  installation,  equipment,  and  health  conditions,  it  shall  be 
classified  in  B  category;  and  if  within  G  months  it  has  not  satisfied 


ARGENTINA.  9 

the  requirements  of  the  regulation,  the  authorities  shall  suspend  the 
Government  aid  hitherto  granted.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  primary 
schools  of  British  Guiana  are  not  directly  administered  by  the  au- 
thorities. 

The  school  also  loses  its  governmental  aid  if  within  two  consecutive 
years  it  does  not  maintain  a  fixed  minimum  attendance,  which  varies 
according  to  the  population  of  the  locality  in  which  it  is  situated. 
In  return  special  aids  are  offered  for  schools  that  teach  gardening 
for  boys  and  the  care  of  smaller  children  for  girls  from  12  to  14 
years. 

The  greatest  educational  need  of  the  colony  is  the  establishment 
of  technical  primary  schools  for  the  instruction  of  boys  and  girls 
from  11  to  15  years.  It  is  projected  to  establish  two  such  schools 
in  Georgetown  in  which  there  shall  be  taught,  in  addition  to  manual 
arts  and  other  craft,  drawing  in  all  its  branches,  arithmetic  and 
geography  as  related  to  commerce,  the  rudiments  of  experimental 
science,  shorthand,  and  business  correspondence.  Criticism  has  been 
directed  against  the  omission  of  instruction  in  agriculture,  which  is 
admitted  to  be  the  most  necessary  branch  in  the  colony.  It  is,  how- 
ever, intended  to  impart  agricultural  instruction  in  special  schools 
to  be  established. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  pupils  leave  school 
before  reaching  12  years,  it  is  not  possible  to  put  into  practice  sug- 
gested plans  of  giving  them  preoccupational  instruction  in  which 
they  might  be  making  a  start  before  the  end  of  their  primary-school 
studies.  On  the  other  hand  the  traditional  primary  school  is  not 
iidequate  to  give  direction  toward  a  vocational  subject.  Hence,  to 
the  regret  of  the  authorities,  attempts  to  link  the  primary  school  with 
the  occupation  of  the  pupil  have  been  abandoned. 

Much  interest  has  been  developed  in  school  gardening;  and  about 
100  gardens  are  annexed  to  primary  schools,  affording  practical  in- 
struction to  pupils  in  agriculture  and  horticulture.  The  Govern- 
ment has  also  established  8  model  gardens,  where  instruction  is 
given  the  pupils  of  neighboring  schools. 


ARGENTINA. 

PRELIMINARY. 

Two  well-defined  stages  have  marked  the  progress  of  national 
education  in  Argentina  since  1916.  The  first  began  with  the  re- 
organization of  primary  instruction  by  act  of  the  Federal  Congress 
early  in  that  year,  which  came  about  largely  through  the  initiative 
and  efforts  of  the  minister  of  public  instruction.  It  had  long  been 
felt  that  the  legal  system  in  force  since  1882  was  unsatisfactory, 
134132°— 20 2 


10 

o-pocially  on  the  point  of  articulation  of  secondary  education  witlt 
the  higher  elementary  on  the  one  hand  and  with  the  universities  on 
the  other.  Argentine  educational  thinkers  asserted  that  secondary 
education  prepared  neither  for  practical  life  nor  for  entrance  to  the 
technical  schools  and  the  universities,  inasmuch  as  it  had  remained 
unchanged  for  more  than  a  generation,  in  the  face  of  the  social, 
economic,  scientific,  and  ethnical  changes  through  which  the  country 
had  passed. 

Together  with  this  dissatisfaction  with  a  special  division  went  the 
conviction  that  governmental  reform  should  strike  deeper,  and  in- 
stead of  busying  itself  with  plans  of  reform  of  courses  and  schedules, 
should  settle  the  fundamental  question  of  what  should  be  the  nature 
and  aims  of  the  national  secondary  school.  This  could  be  done  only 
by  so  modifying  the  prevailing  system  as  to  make  it  fit  the  needs 
of  the  school  population  according  to  their  age,  social  conditions, 
and  probable  future.  Proof  that  it  had  not  so  adapted  itself  was 
thought  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  of  the  pupils  annually  com- 
pleting the  4a  elementary  grade  only  45  per  cent  continued  into  the 
colegios  nacionales,  as  contrasted  with  55  per  cent  who  went  into 
the  5a  grade  and  commercial  schools,  while  on  a  moderate  estimate 
60  per  cent  left  with  insufficient  equipment  for  their  needs  as  useful 
members  of  society.  Furthermore,  the  secondary  school,  as  organ- 
ized, offered  no  opportunity  to  boys  and  girls  of  13  and  14  years 
to  choose  the  advanced  courses  and  vocational  training  for  which 
they  felt  an  aptitude,  and  so  to  secure  adequate  preparation  for  the 
university  studies  or  for  advanced  technical,  industrial,  and  com- 
mercial schools. 

For  this  lack  of  correlation  between  educational  divisions  it  was 
proposed  to  substitute  a  logical  and  unbroken  sequence.  What  came 
to  be  commonly  accepted  among  education  authorities  as  best  serv- 
ing this  purpose  was  a  common  intermediate  school  of  three  years 
of  an  essentially  practical  character,  carrying  on  general  elementary 
instruction  by  means  of  book  lessons  and  developing  by  special  ex- 
periments and  practical  methods  individual  aptitudes  by  which  to 
determine  future  training.  As  the  basis  for  such  a  school  primary 
education  had,  of  course,  to  be  modified,  and  after  months  of  dis- 
cussion a  scheme  for  general  modification  of  the  entire  educational 
fabric  was  outlined  (1916).  According  to  this,  the  primary  school 
proper  was  to  cover  four  years;  the  uniform  middle  school  of  the 
!it •-(  grade  one  year;  and  the  differentiated  middle  school  of  the 
nd  grade  two  years.  Upon  these  were  to  be  based  the  colegios 
nacionales,  the  normal  schools,  the  industrial  schools,  the  various 
higher  special  schools,  and  the  national  universities.  Though  mark- 
ing a  meritorious  attempt  to  articulate  the  several  divisions,  the 


ARGEXTrXA.  11 

project  did  not  work  out  satisfactorily  in  actual  operation,  and  as 
a  constituent  part  of  the  national  system  it  was  repealed  after  about 
a  year  of  operation. 

ILLITERACY. 

On  a  basis  of  population  estimated  (1917)  at  slightly  more  than 
eight  millions,  725,000  were  estimated  to  be  illiterate,  about  42  per 
cent  of  the  school  population.  Illiteracy  is  most  rife  in  remote  Prov- 
inces of  the  Andes  and  in  the  Territories,  sparsely  settled  and  inhab- 
ited by  people  of  roving  habits  and  poorly  developed  industrially. 
Under  the  lead  of  the  director  general  of  the  schools  of  the  Province 
of  Mendoza,  a  systematic  campaign  to  eliminate  illiteracy  was  begun 
in  1916.  It  was  recognized  that  financial  considerations  made  it  im- 
possible to  establish  the  number  of  primary  schools  which  would  be 
demanded,  certainly  not  for  the  many  remote  points  where  only  the 
legal  minimum  of  15  or  20  illiterates  were  to  be  found.  Home 
schools  (escuelas  del  hogar)  were  therefore  established,  officially 
ranking  as  auxiliary  to  the  already  existent  schools,  for  illiterates  of 
8  to  20  years,  and  offering  as  a  minimum  curriculum  reading,  writ- 
ing, the  four  fundamental  operations  of  arithmetic,  the  duties  of  the 
Argentine  citizen,  elements  of  ethics,  and  personal  hygiene.  Such 
schools  may  begin  any  clay  of  the  year,  and  with  a  minimum  of  five 
pupils.  Any  person  desiring  to  open  such  a  school  must  fulfill  the 
following  conditions: 

(a)  He  must  be  at  least  20  years  of  age,  of  good  moral  reputation, 
certified  by  the  chief  civil  official  of  his  residence. 

(b)  He  must  speak  the  national  language  correctly  and  be  able  to 
give  instruction  in  it. 

Such  schools  shall  not  be  established  at  less  distance  than  5  kilo- 
meters from  an  established  primary  school  supported  by  national, 
provincial,  or  local  funds,  but  if  the  school  be  intended  exclusively 
for  boys  from  15  to  20  years  old  it  may  be  located  at  any  point.  Such 
schools  are  to  be  visited  freely  by  school  and  civil  authorities,  and  by 
persons  designated  by  the  provincial  general  inspectors. 

Related  in  character  to  the  escuelas  del  koga-r  of  the  Province  are 
the  escuelas  tut  orioles,  established  by  national  decree  of  1916,  apply- 
ing to  all  the  Provinces  and  especially  to  the  Territories.  In  these 
schools,  established  at  points  designated  by  the  National  Council  of 
Education,  any  number  of  children  not  regularly  enrolled  in  the  pri- 
mary schools  may  be  taught  by  private  individuals  who  conform  to 
the  requirements  of  primary  teachers,  and  by  teachers  regularly  en- 
gaged in  primary  work.  The  latter,  by  special  exception,  receive 
additional  compensation  for  such  instruction.  The  same  law  also 


12  BIENNIAL   SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

provides  remuneration,  to  be  fixed  by  the  general  council  of  education 
of  the  Province  or  Territory  for  all  persons,  not  teachers,  who  are 
certificated  to  have  taught  illiterates,  whether  children  or  adults,  to 
read  and  write. 

Most  novel  of  all  undertakings  for  the  wiping  out  of  illiteracy  are 
the  traveling  schools  (escuvlas  am&ukmtes) .  Provided  for  by  the 
original  organic  school  law  of  1884,  these  schools  were  not,  because 
of  lack  of  funds,  put  into  operation  until  1914.  Up  to  that  time 
there  was  a  conviction  that  their  need  was  insignificant  by  contrast 
with  the  greater  problem  of  illiteracy  in  the  cities,  and  that  to  scatter 
funds  available  for  combating  illiteracy  was  not  prudent.  How 
serious  this  mistake  was  appeared  in  1914  when  it  was  ascertained 
by  systematic  count  that  of  nearly  35,000  children  of  the  Territories 
not  in  school  only  6,000  lived  in  towns. 

Located  first  in  Province  of  Catamarca,  and  in  the  mountain 
regions  of  Rio  Negro  and  the  Chubut,  these  schools  are  built  of 
materials  easily  transportable,  and  accommodate  an  average  of  25 
pupils.  Sites  are  selected  for  them  which  are  most  accessible  to  the 
largest  number  of  children  in  the  district.  Teachers  traverse  such 
regions  on  foot  or  mnleback,  carrying  necessary  equipment  for  in- 
struction, and  remain  four  and  one-half  months  at  each  place,  giving 
instruction  in  reading,  writing,  elements  of  arithmetic,  and  hygiene. 
A  decided  advantage  is  found  in  this  succinct  curriculum,  the  average 
of  successful  study  by  the  pupils  of  these  schools  being,  it  is  claimed, 
fully  on  a  par  with  that  of  the  pupils  of  the  nine  months'  primary 
schools,  who  are  required  to  take  the  standard  number  of  subjects. 

Within  their  first  two  years  of  existence,  20  of  these  schools  were 
established,  as  reported  by  the  National  Council  of  Education  in 
December,  1916;  and  12  were  added  in  1917.  The  report  of  the 
inspector  general  of  the  Province  of  Mendoza  concluded  as  follows : 

This  new  type  of  school  must  exist  for  many  years  in  Argentina  to  answer 
the  needs  of  the  actual  distribution  of  the  population,  the  lack  of  adequate 
means  of  communication,  and  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  fixed  schools 
in  the  greater  part  of  the  zones  engaged  in  agriculture  and  cattle  raising.  It 
behooves  the  authorities,  therefore,  to  continue  the  improvement  of  the  system 
in  such  manner  that  its  efficiency  shall  be  steadily  greater,  and  that  results 
shall  amply  compensate  for  their  maintenance. 

An  interesting,  phase  of  social  conscience  is  shown  in  the  generous 
offer  of  the  women  pupils  of  the  third  and  fourth  years  of  the  normal 
school  at  Santa  Fe  to  instruct  illiterates  afternoons  and  nights  in 
reading,  writing,  the  elements  of  arithmetic,  national  language  and 
history,  and  practical  personal  and  school  hygiene.  This  offer  has 
been  highly  commended  both  by  Argentine  and  foreign  educators 
as  a  step  toward  solving  the  problem  of  illiteracy,  worthy  of  imita- 
tion nationally  and  locally. 


ARGENTINA.  13 

The  struggle  against  illiteracy  has  been  the  subject  of  serious  con- 
sideration by  the  executive,  the  chief  school  authorities,  and  the  Con- 
gress. The  executive  has  constantly  urged  the  National  Council  of 
Education  to  intensify  its  campaigns  and  has  cooperated  by  all  means 
in  his  power  in  the  steady  diffusion  of  education.  The  Houses  of 
Congress  have  also  busied  themselves  especialy  with  this  grave 
problem.  These  efforts  have  borne  fruit  which,  if  not  visible  at  the 
present  time,  is  certainly  destined  to  raise  the  level  of  popular  educa- 
tion within  the  next  few  years.  The  authorities  have  judged  that 
what  is  needed  is  the  patient  labor  which  does  not  require  an  imme- 
diate and  striking  solution  of  a  most  difficult  problem,  but  is  willing 
to  continue  to  exercise  an  ever-increasing  influence  upon  the  rising 
generation,  confident  of  the  spread  of  education  and  enlightenment 
with  the  increase  of  population  and  the  improvement  in  means  of 
communication;  and  that  it  is  not  wise  to  sow  schools  broadcast 
throughout  the  Republic  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  doing  something 
and  of  doing  it  rapidly.  The  success  of  the  struggle  against 
illiteracy,  certain  as  it  is,  has  its  roots  not  in  merely  spending  much 
money,  but  in  spending  money  well. 

REPORT  OF  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  progress  of  education  in  Argentina  is  best  epitomized  in  the 
report  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  for  the  four  years  end- 
ing December  31,  1916.  The  character  of  this  council  is  unique  in 
educational  polity,  wielding,  as  it  does,  greater  powers  than  any 
similar  body  in  countries  educationaly  advanced,  and  counting  in 
its  membership  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  Nation.  Its  reports 
follow  traditionally  the  line  of  national  (the  capital  city),  pro- 
vincial, and  territorial  administration.  When  the  very  hetero- 
geneous character  of  the  population  of  Argentina,  due  to  the  steady 
stream  of  immigration,  is  taken  into  account,  the  necessity  of  such 
a  central  body,  vested  with  powers  of  initiation  and  execution  in. 
primary  education,  is  apparent.  By  a  wise  division  of  powers  in  the 
original  organic  law,  the  control  of  secondary  education  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  Provinces,  with  subsidies  granted  by  the  National 
Government,  as  was  the  right  to  prescribe  subjects  essential  to  na- 
tionalistic and  patriotic  training.  Concentration  of  effort  and  power 
is  thus  secured,  with  national  acquiescence  in  the  official  actions  of  the 
council.  Its  activities  center  naturally  around  the  establishment  of 
new  schools  and  the  construction  of  school  buildings,  and  the  train- 
ing of  teachers  to  meet  the  demands  of  modern  conditions. 

As  a  substitute  for  the  abortive  intermediate  schools  established 
in  1916,  which  soon  proved  unsatisfactory,  the  council  decided  later 
in  that  year  to  establish,  parallel  and  auxiliary  to  the  higher  pri- 


14  BIENNIAL,  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

niary  schools,  one  of  practical  arts  and  crafts  for  each  sex  in  every 
district  of  Buenos  Aires.  Such  schools  approximated  100  in  num- 
ber. This  type  of  school  was  designed  for  boys  and  girls  not  intend- 
ing to  proceed  to  higher  studies,  and  was  later  to  be  extended  to 
the  nation  at  large.  Its  purpose  and  program  of  studies  was  two- 
fold— to  complete  the  theoretical  and  higher  courses  of  the  higher 
primary  schools  with  vocational,  technical,  and  manual  training, 
based  upon  and  making  use  of  the  materials  which  were  peculiarly 
Argentine  and  local  in  industries,  commerce,  art,  and  economics; 
and  to  lay  stress  throughout  on  nationalistic  and  patriotic  aims. 
An  interesting  feature,  common  to  these  new  schools  and  the  con- 
tinuation schools  now  arising  in  England  and  France,  is  the  pro- 
vision by  which  they  operate  2  hours  in  the  morning  and  2  hours 
in  the  afternoon  or  night,  and  are  to  admit  pupils  from  the  fourth 
to  the  sixth  grade  of  the  primary  schools,  who  have  reached  the 
age  of  12  years.  Statistics  as  to  the  success  of  these  schools  are 
not  as  yet  available. 

In  the  matter  of  building  primary  schools  proper,  the  report  of 
the  council  shows  progress  throughout  the  four  years  covered.  A 
total  of  62  schools,  with  426  teachers  and  19,563  pupils,  was  added 
to  the  system.  Because  of  national  economic  and  financial  condi- 
tions prevailing  half  a  century  ago,  the  great  majority  of  the  pri- 
mary schools  began  operation  in  private  buildings,  which  did  not 
conform  to  pedagogical  or  even  sanitary  requirements.  For  many 
years  excessive  rents  were  often  paid  by  the  State,  but  upon  the 
revaluation  of  property  in  many  Provinces  in  1915,  an  economy  in 
rents  was  effected,  and  the  funds  thus  saved  were  devoted  to  new 
schools.  Despite  high  prices  of  material  and  difficulties  of  labor, 
in  December,  1916,  eleven  school  buildings  were  in  process  of  erec- 
tion, at  an  estimated  cost  of  $750,000,  with  a  capacity  of  22,000  pu- 
pils. According  to  the  report  of  the  council :  "  The  construction  of 
properly  equipped  Government  primary  school  buildings  has  con- 
stituted one  of  the  most  serious  problems  and,  therefore,  one  of  the 
chief  occupations  of  the  council."  It  was  frankly  admitted,  how- 
ever, that,  with  all  the  efforts  of  the  council,  accommodations  for 
children  in  the  primary  schools  were  still  far  from  adequate,  it  be- 
ing estimated  on  that  date  that  4,000  additional  schools  of  this 
grade  were  needed  for  the  more  than  600,000  children  in  the  capital 
and  the  Territories  who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  were  not  in  school. 

The  activity  of  the  council  continued  to  be  marked  in  1917.  In 
April  of  that  year,  143  new  schools  were  decreed,  39  for  the  Federal 
Capital,  18  for  the  Provinces  under  the  legal  national  subvention, 
and  86  for  the  Territories  (30  being  ewuelas  ambiilantes) ,  the  Con- 
gress voting  two  millions  in  the  national  budget  for  the  execution  of 
this  decree.  The  centralizing  tendencies  of  South  American  coun- 


ARGEiNTINA.  15 

tries  iii  general,  and  the  overwhelming  dominance  of  the  capital, 
secured  for  it  so  generous  a  share  of  this  that  it  is  estimated  that 
in  the  Federal  capital  there  will  be  for  the  first  time  room  for  all 
children  of  school  age.  For  the  poorer  Provinces,  and  the  Terri- 
tories, which  by  the  Tainez  law  of  1886  are  absolutely  dependent 
upon  the  central  authority  of  the  National  Council,  250  schools  of 
one  and  two  rooms  were  assigned,  but  on  an  estimate  about  one-third 
of  the  children  were  still  left  unprovided  with  school  facilities. 
Attention  was  repeatedly  called  to  the  need  of  a  uniform  and  rig- 
orously applied  national  law  for  compulsory  school  attendance. 

During  the  year  1918  approximately  400  schools  were  established, 
and  the  council  proposes  to  establish  as  many  more  during  1919  in 
the  Provinces  and  the  national  Territories.  The  nation  has  taken 
charge  of  many  provincial  schools  which  the  respective  governments 
could  not  maintain  by  reason  of  lack  of  resources.  The  Province  of 
Mendoza  alone  transferred  130  schools  to  the  council  of  education 
during  the  month  of  August,  1918.  Relative  to  the  establishment  of 
schools,  regard  has  been  had  chiefly  to  the  population  of  the  districts 
which  petitioned  for  them,  as  well  as  the  number  of  children  of 
school  age,  in  order  that  the  buildings  may  be  installed  in  populous 
centers,  where  a  constant  attendance  of  pupils  is  reasonably  assured. 

The  general  plan  of  the  council  for  the  diffusion  of  primary  educa- 
tion has  not  been  put  into  practice  in  full,  because  of  the  lack  of 
resources  in  some  instances  and  in  others  because  of  the  scarcity  of 
building  materials  in  the  country.  School  equipment  ha«  boon 
secured  in  various  countries,  supplies  necessary  having  been  pur- 
chased in  the  United  States  to  the  value  of  $350,000.  The  demand 
has  been  still  unsatisfied,  the  capital  city  alone  calling  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  schools  every  year,  because  of  the  increase  of  children 
of  school  age,  and  the  Provinces  have  always  been  behind  the  neces- 
sary number  of  school  buildings  and  facilities  and  have  never  reached 
the  goal  set  by  the  authorities.  An  encouraging  feature  of  the  situa- 
tion is  that  upon  the  completion  of  all  the  school  buildings  now  under 
construction  accommodations  for  56,000  pupils  in  addition  will  be 
provided. 

Peculiar  attention  has  been  given  to  the  development  of  night 
schools  by  the  council,  86  having  been  established  and  maintained  by 
the  council  in  the  four  years  covered  by  the  report.  An  admirably 
broadened  scope  was  given  them  in  the  appeal  issued  by  the  council 
to  the  nation  that  the  full  purpose  of  such  schools  should  be  realized 
not  only  by  the  attendance  of  illiterates,  but  also  of  youths  and 
adults  "  who,  possessing  some  degree  of  education,  are  also  desirous 
of  improving  that  as  related  to  the  needs  of  their  lives."  All  reforms 
and  modifications  of  night  schools  have  concerned  themselves  with 
this  larger  clientele.  A  further  socializing  of  the  night  school  is  seen 


16  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

in  the  appeal  of  the  council  to  proprietors,  managers  of  factories,  and 
employers  of  labor  generally  to  encourage  in  every  way  in  their 
power  their  employees  to  attend  night  schools  and  to  offer  prizes  of 
various  kinds  for  diligence  and  progress.  Literature  bearing  on  these 
schools  was  distributed  free  by  the  council. 

In  1915  the  council  was  empowered,  by  the  terms  of  the  will  of  a 
philanthropic  resident  of  Buenos  Aires,  Don  Felix  Berasconi,  who 
bequeathed  for  educational  purposes  a  sum  of  three  and  a- half  mil- 
lion dollars,  to  proceed  to  the  erection  and  establishment  of  an  insti- 
tution under  State  control  which  should  give  instruction  in  general 
primary,  scientific,  scientific-industrial,  physical,  and  social  educa- 
tion. A  building  was  to  be  begun  in  1916,  planned  in  seven  sections, 
conforming  to  the  most  modern  pedagogical  and  sanitary  demands, 
and  with  a  capacity  of  more  than  3,000  pupils.  Designed  to  benefit 
the  working  people  preeminently,  it  was  to  be  situated  in  the  section 
of  the  city  showing  the  greatest  proportion  of  them. 

Responding  to  the  general  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  re- 
sults of  primary  education  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires,  which  has 
been  unaffected  by  criticism  for  seven  years,  the  council  in  June,  1917, 
sent  out  questionnaires  to  all  inspectors  and  to  the  body  of  teachers 
calling  for  an  expression  of  opinion  as  to  (1)  the  merits  and  defects 
of  the  plans  of  studies,  schedules,  etc.,  then  in  force;  (2)  those  of 
projected  or  possible  programs,  with  additional  features  worthy  to  be 
incorporated;  and  (3)  educational  considerations  bearing  upon  the 
problems  of  the  schools  of  the  capital.  The  answers  showed  encour- 
aging grasp  of  the  educational  needs  of  the  city,  with  significant 
unanimity  as  to  the  practical  methods  of  working  out  necessary 
reforms.  Salient  points  were: 

1.  That  all  programs  should  leave  room  for  and  be  closely  articu- 
lated with  manual  arts  and  domestic  economy. 

2.  That  the  courses  of  arithmetic  in  the  first,  second,  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  grades  were  overloaded,  as  were  those  of  grammar  in  the 
fourth,  geometry  in  the  third  and  fifth,  nature  study  in  the  second, 
geography  in  the  second  and  fifth,  singing  in  the  second,  and  music. 

3.  That  the  primary  school  cycle  should  commence  at  7  years  and 
end  at  12. 

4.  That  primary  courses  and  schedules  for  urban  schools  should 
be  strictly  differentiated  from  those  for  rural  and  country  town 
schools. 

5.  That  from  October  15  to  April  15  the  school  day  should  be 
from  7.30  to  11.30;  from  April  15  to  September  30  from  12  to  4. 

6.  That  the  advancement  of  the  teacher  with  the  class  merited  a 
fair  trial,  the  teacher  remaining  with  the  same  class  a  minimum  of 
two  years  and  a  maximum  of  three. 


ARGENTINA.  17 

7.  That  the  establishment  of  normal  schools  essentially  for  rural 
teachers  was  imperative. 

It  is  recognized  that  the  clearness  and  sanity  of  these  answers  had 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  substance  of  the  law  presented  to  the  Fed- 
eral Congress  in  August.  1918. 

Another  interesting  instance  of  the  submission  of  a  pedagogic 
matter  to  the  teachers  of  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires  is  shown  in  the 
questionnaire  asking  their  opinion  as  to  the  best  method  of  teaching 
spelling,  sent  out  by  the  inspector  of  the  tenth  district,  to  the 
teachers.  In  accordance  with  the  answers  to  this,  the  vocabulary 
used  in  primary  schools  was  reduced  to  categories  corresponding  to 
the  several  grades,  to  its  difficulties,  and  to  the  actual  needs  of  the 
life  and  dominant  occupations  of  the  quarter  of  the  city  from  which 
the  children  were  drawn.  This  step  was  highly  commended  in 
French  educational  circles  as  marking  efficient  grappling  with 
pedagogical  difficulties  felt  in  all  cities  of  whatsoever  country. 

The  regulation  of  the  medical  and  dental  inspection  of  national 
schools,  under  decree  of  March,  1918,  was  noteworthy.  According 
to  this,  professional  inspectors,  chosen  by  the  Government,  must 
within  the  first  three  m'onths  of  each  school  year  examine  indi- 
vidually all  children  entering  school  for  the  first  time,  periodically 
inspect  the  school  buildings  and  ground  and  the  health  conditions  of 
the  teaching  and  administrative  staffs,  and  take  all  prophylactic 
measures  deemed  necessary  against  epidemics  and  contagious  dis- 
eases. Such  reports  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  medical  inspector 
general.  Dental  inspection  of  schools  is  to  have  a  prominent  part. 
Every  month  the  chief  inspector  shall  assemble  for  report  and  mutual 
discussion  all  medical  and  dental  inspectors  in  such  territorial  divi- 
sions as  he  shall  see  fit. 

Of  the  regulations  in  detail  promulgated  by  the  council  in  1918, 
the  most  important  is  that  changing  the  school  year  to  two  divisions, 
the  first  beginning  March  1  and  continuing  until  June  30,  followed 
by  three  weeks  of  vacation,  and  the  second  beginning  July  21  and 
continuing  until  November  20,  followed  by  the  long  vacation  of  the 
year.  This  change  is  regarded  as  conforming  with  climatic  effects 
upon  the  health  of  school  children  and  as  being  a  step  long  needed. 

PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE  PROVINCE. 

Outside  the  scope  of  the  National  Council  are  the  powers  of  the 
provincial  councils.  These  are  local,  auxiliary,  and  reinforcing  in 
character.  Some  of  the  Provinces  are  practically  inactive  on  the 
side  of  primary  education,  contenting  themselves  with  the  provi- 
sions made  in  that  field  by  the  National  Government.  Others,  how- 
ever, among  them  Santa  Fe,  San  Luis,  Cordoba,  Entre  Rios,  and, 
134132°— 20 3 


18  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1018. 

of  course,  Buenos  Aires,  are  worthy  of  note  and  commendation  for 
steady  interest  in  matters  educational,  and  in  financial  support  of 
schools  carried  on  independently  of  the  central  authority. 

Progress  in  the  Province  of  Santa  Fe,  as  evidenced  by  the  annual 
message  of  the  governor  of  that  Province  for  1917,  was  steady, 
despite  the  need  of  economy  in  provincial  finances  clue  to  conditions 
resulting  from  the  World  War.  An  increase  of  14  provincial  schools 
over  the  year  previous  and  of  the  grades  in  36  schools  was  noted. 
Two  problems  were  kept  steadily  in  view :  The  improvement  in  the 
teaching  personnel,  accentuated  by  the  disclosure  of  the  fact  that 
more  than  one-third  of  the  teachers  in  the  provincial  schools  lacked 
teacher  training,  and  the  construction  of  better  school  buildings.  It 
was  estimated  that  with  these  from  25  to  30  per  cent  of  additional 
pupils  could  be  taught  by  the  same  teaching  force. 

In  the  Province  of  San  Luis  the  general  inspector  of  provinces 
reported  for  1916  the  establishment  of  160  local  associations  of  the 
national  Awnigos  de  la  Education.  This  society,  composed  of  parents 
and  others  interested  in  primary  education,  has  for  its  objects  the 
close  linking  of  home  and  school,  the  fight  against  illiteracy,  the 
promotion  of  good  feeling  and  companionship  between  natives  and 
immigrants,  the  celebration  of  national  festivals,  the  securing  of 
better  primary  enrollment  and  attendance  especially  by  the  poorer 
children,  with  the  inculcation  of  their  self-respect,  and  cooperation 
with  the  regional  and  national  authorities  in  the  safeguarding  of 
public  health. 

In  this  Province,  by  volunteer  organizations  of  teachers  and  others 
interested,  local  patriotic  conferences  were  inaugurated  on  topics  of 
national  history,  hygiene,  political  economy,  ethics,  and  themes  gen- 
erally related  to  home  and  school  maters. 

In  the  Province  of  Buenos  Aires  school  excursions  have  been  de- 
veloped and  made  an  organic  part  of  instruction  in  civic  and  national 
spirit.  They  have  been  so  arranged  that  children  in  the  several  zones 
may  come  by  personal  touch  to  know  and  correspond  by  letter  with 
each  other.  In  some  places  participation  in  these  excursions  has 
been  made  a  reward  of  good  lessons  and  conduct.  They  are  to  be 
taken  in  the  la£t  15  days  of  October,  and  children  are  not  to  remain 
more  than  3  days  in  one  locality.  Groups  of  not  more  than  12  pupils 
are  recommended. 

In  July,  1916,  the  council  general  of  the  Province  of  Buenos  Aires 
initiated  courses  in  the  normal  school  for  the  training  of  teachers 
and  graduates  of  the  normal  schools  in  the  recognition  and  study  of 
retardation  and  its  causes,  and  in  early  correction  of  abnormalities 
most  frequently  met.  The  program  of  courses  includes  a  series  of  16 
lessons  on  related  medical  and  pedagogical  topics. 


ARGENTINA.  19 

Of  direct  bearing  upon  educational  problems  among  the  rural 
population  is  the  project  of  the  law  recently  sent  by  the  executive 
of  the  Province  of  Buenos  Aires  to  the  legislature,  providing  for  the 
issuance  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $45,000,000  for  the  expropriation 
of  parts  of  the  great  landed  estates  and  the  division  of  the  land  thus 
expropriated  into  small  tracts  for  the  use  of  small  farmers.  Subse- 
quent purchase  under  advantageous  terms  is  to  be  encouraged.  Ac- 
cording to  reports,  the  prevailing  system  of  "  arrendaiorios,"  or 
small  tenants  for  short  terms,  has  led  to  so  acute  an  agrarian  unrest, 
with  the  consequent  shifting  and  aimless  wandering  of  an  increasing 
clement  of  the  population,  as  to  constitute  a  social  and  economic  men- 
ace no  longer  to  be  ignored.  The  educational  effects  in  the1  increase 
of  illiteracy  and  the  general  retardation  of  primary  education  have, 
been  manifest. 

In  1918  the  Legislature  of  the  Province  of  Entre  Rios  enacted  into 
la,w  a  series  of  provisions  guaranteeing  the  stability  of  the1  scale  of 
salaries  for  teachers  in  provincial  schools.  Promotion  and  increase 
of  salary  were  based  rigorously  upon  merit;  teachers  were  declared 
unremovable  during  good  conduct  and  fitness;  initial  salaries  were 
fixed  as  follows:  (a)  For  normal  teacher,  $160  per  month;  (b)  for 
rural  normal  teacher,  $120  per  month;  (c)  for  rural  teacher,  $100 
per  month;  (d)  for  special  teacher,  $80  per  month.  Every  five  years 
the  teacher  who  has  worked  in  the  same  place  for  that  period  shall 
receive  a  bonus  of  20  per  cent  on  his  initial  sulary. 

The  government  of  the  Province  of  Cordoba  has  approved  a  plan 
for  the  introduction  of  agricultural  courses  in  the*  primary  schools, 
presented  and  prepared  by  experts  in  agronomy  and  pedagogy,  with- 
out dislocation  of  existing  courses  and  schedules. 

The  inspectors  of  this  Province  presented  for  the  consideration  of 
the  provincial  chamber  of  deputies  the  project  of  a  law  to  establish 
a  normal  school  for  the  preparation  of  rural  teachers  exclusively,  the 
courses  offered  being: 

(a)  The  development  of  subjects  related  to  fundamental  studies 
in  the  primary  schools; 

(Z>)  Practice  teaching  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  primary  schools 
of  the  locality ;  and 

(c)  Elementary  teaching,  both  theoretical  and  practical,  in  manual 
arts,  agriculture  and  cattle  breeding,  and  minor  rural  industries. 

Private  schools  conforming  to  governmental  requirements  were 
legally  recognized  and  incorporated  by  decree  of  1917  and  their  con- 
sequent validation  effected.  Pupils  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades  of 
such  private  schools  applying  for  leaving  certificates  are  required 
to  undergo  an  examination  upon  all  subjects  for  those  grades  of  the 
official  national  programs  before  a  board  of  three  members  appointed 
by  the  inspector. 


20  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1016-1918» 

Officially  apart  from  the  Ministry  of  Public  Education  but  call- 
ing for  special  mention  was  the  establishment  in  1917  under  the 
encouragement  of  the  National  Department  of  Agriculture  of  16 
schools  in  rural  domestic  science  in  nine  Provinces,  including  Buenos 
Aires.  Courses  are  offered  in  minor  industries,  such  as  dairying, 
beekeeping,  care  of  fowls,  hog  raising,  agriculture,  horticulture,  and 
canning  of  fruits  and  vegetables.  Five  hundred  women  have  been 
enrolled.  A  number  of  these  schools,  the  largest  at  Tucuman,  have 
been  put  on  a  permanent  basis,  and  private  associations  are  working 
to  effect  this  in  many  places. 

School  celebrations  of  national  festivals,  long  popular  in  Argen- 
tina, have  been  especially  marked  during  the  year  1918,  the  cen- 
tennial year  for  the  nation.  They  were  held  in  all  schools  on 
July  8,  the  chief  feature  being  the  oath  to  the  flag  and  the  singing  of 
the  national  hymn  in  the  presence  of  the  school  and  civic  authorities. 

CHANGES  UNDER  THE  PROJECTED  LAW   OF    1918. 

Following  the  former  order  of  education  in  Argentina,  the  second 
stage  of  primary  education  began  with  the  educational  bill  sub- 
mitted with  the  approval  of  the  President  to  the  Federal  Congress 
in  August,  1918.  In  this  were  incorporated  changes  of  far  wider 
scope  than  any  ever  before  projected.  Not  only  primary  education, 
but  the  entire  fabric  of  Argentine  education  was  to  be  nationalized 
in  content  of  courses,  in  methods  of  instruction,  and  in  special  prepa- 
ration of  teachers  for  tasks  devolving  on  them  under  the  new  regime. 
The  bill  provided  for  large  development  of  industrial  and  vocational 
courses  and  called  for  the  use  of  materials  peculiarly  national  and 
local.  It  laid  stress  upon  civic  and  patriotic  training,  in  view  of  the 
heterogeneous  constitution  of  the  Argentine  population  through 
steady  streams  of  immigration  and  the  necessity  of  molding  these 
diverse  elements  into  a  body  of  patriotic  and  intelligent  citizens.  Iti 
provided  for  the  establishment  of  primary  schools  throughout  the 
nation  under  more  flexible  financial  and  administrative  regulations 
than  the  old,  for  the  segregation  of  specific  revenues  for  the  exclu- 
sive use  of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction,  and  the  consequent 
abolition  of  the  old  system  of  national  subsidies  to  individual  local- 
ities. Especially  in  the  fight  against  illiteracy  did  the  projected  law 
embody  progressive  features.  The  National  Council  of  Education 
was  empowered  to  establish  standard  primary  schools  wherever  there 
were  as  many  as  20  illiterate  children  of  school  age.  In  the  message 
which  accompanied  the  recommendation  of  the  law  the  President 
pointed  out  that  the  projected  law  tended  to  give  unity  and  stability 
to  the  several  divisions  of  education  under  the  direction  of  the  de- 
partment of  national  instruction  and  adapted  them  to  the  material 


ARGENTINA.  21 

progress  of  the  nation  and  to  latter-day  civilization.  His  identifica- 
tion of  popular  education  with  national  progress  justifies  a  quotation 
at  length : 

As  primary  education  was  established  by  law  in  1864,  it  contains  regulations 
which  in  reality  have  lost  their  original  justfication ;  for  Argentine  civilization 
now  demands  urgent  reforms  in  the  the  matter  of  general  instruction  in  order 
to  give  greater  consistency  and  reason  to  the  latter,  and  in  order  to  make  it 
more  practical,  more  adaptable  to  the  various  regional  needs  of  the  Republic. 
It  is  especially  urgent  to  carry  its  action  to  all  the  sections  of  the  country  not 
yet  reached  by  the  system  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  real  aims  of  a  truly  na- 
tional education.  Chief  among  these  is  to  eradicate  illiteracy,  the  most  patriotic 
task  in  which  we  can  engage  and  the  one  upon  whose  successful  execution  alone 
can  any  real  national  progress  and  enlightenment  rest. 

The  institutions  of  higher  education  have  continued  to  develop  in  the  direc- 
tion of  autonomy  and  within  the  limit  determined  by  the  law  of  1885 ;  but  with 
the  primary,  they  demand  modifications  in  the  course  and  arrangement  of 
studies  in  order  to  abolish  antiquated  practices  and  methods  and  to  reach  the 
level  of  the  great  modern  universities  of  the  world. 

Secondary  instruction,  in  its  turn,  has  lacked  and  still  lacks  a  law  to  fix  it  in 
definite  form  and  to  define  its  real  character  in  accordance  with  constitutional 
precepts  and  the  nature  of  our  political  institutions.  It  has  existed  subject 
to  the  continual  change  of  plans  and  regulations,  harassed  by  the  application  of 
widely  varying  educational  conceptions,  in  a  state  of  continuous  instability,  and 
therefore  reduced  to  a  mere  administrative  mechanism  without  power  of 
initiative  relative  to  its  immediate  needs  and  without  sufficient  social  influence 
to  realize  its  true  aims.  To  remedy  these  evils  and  to  fill  these  gaps  is  one  of 
the  purposes  of  this  law,  in  which  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  include  only 
that  which  ought  to  be  general  and  permanent.  The  primary  aim  of  secondary 
education  should  be  to  spread  education  among  the  towns  and  cities  in  such  a 
way  that  in  all  the  country  there  shall  be  trained,  educated  citizens  fitted  to 
play  their  part  in  the  future  civilization  of  the  country.  Preparatory  instruc- 
tion has  therefore  been  kept  under  the  control  of  the  universities,  which  will 
fix  their  courses  of  study,  their  duration,  and  their  extension  both  general  and 
special.  Both  the  plans  of  the  preparatory  courses,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
professions  taught  in  the  faculties  of  the  university,  have  been  projected  along 
the  lines  already  mentioned.  The  programs  of  the  normal  schools  have  been 
formulated  in  accordance  with  the  technical  ideas  which  should  distinguish 
them,  separating  the  general  studies  from  those  properly  called  pedagogical  or 
professional,  arranging  them  so  that  the  former  shall  precede  and  the  latter  be 
intensified  toward  the  end  of  the  course. 

As  regards  practical  subjects  of  instruction,  the  project  outlines  only  the 
general  features  according  to  which  they  must  be  taught.  Instruction  will  be 
imparted  in  accordance  with  the  necessities  of  the  immediate  field  of  each 
school,  with  special  regard  to  natural  production,  commerce,  industries,  and 
aptitudes  of  the  population,  all  with  the  purpose  of  adjusting  anew  the  activi- 
ties of  the  Argentine  youth,  which  has  hitherto  been  by  preference  inclined 
toward  the  more  speculative  studies  rather  than  those  of  practical  and  of  imme- 
diate application.  It  is  left  to  the  authorities  of  technical  education  to  prepare 
plans  and  courses  of  study  adapted  to  each  class  of  institutions. 

Enrollment  in  all  schools  has  been  made  absolutely  free,  a  logical  consequence 
of  compulsory  education,  which  has  as  yet  never  been  effective,  but  which  is 
an  iridispensible  condition  to  placing  all  upon  the  same  plane  of  equality,  a 
thing  inherent  in  the  principles  of  republican  institutions. 


^2  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

The  Goverment  considers  that  the  power  wielded  by  the  nation  to  spread 
primary  education  in  the  Provinces  is  so  ample,  in  the  form  established  by  this 
projected  law,  that  the  regulations  in  force  concerning  financial  subventions 
are  without  reason  or  justification.  Once  the  Provinces  have  complied  with 
the  duty  imposed  upon  them  by  the  constitution  in  this  regard  up  to  the  limit 
of  their  capacity  the  accompanying  responsibility  of  the  Federal  Government 
will  disappear. 

The  executive,  knowing  the  great  value  of  the  teaching  profession  in  the  gen- 
eral concert  of  human  activities,  seeks  every  means  to  establish  and  dignify 
the  career  of  teacher,  making  it  a  real  profession  surrounded  by  all  the  honors 
and  all  the  public  considerations  which  it  can  legitimately  claim.  It  is  there- 
fore sought  in  the  reform  to  fix  proper  conditions  for  different  categories  of 
teachers,  as  well  as  a  scale  of  salaries,  and  proportional  and  periodic  increase, 
thus  guaranteeing  the  stability  of  the  profession  and  assuring  it  an  honorable 
and  tranquil  retirement.  With  such  aims  in  view  for  the  retirement  of  sec- 
ondary teachers,  the  executive  has  believed  it  equitable  to  establish  similar 
lines  of  financial  aid  for  pensions  and  for  increase  of  salaries  as  those  offered 
to  the  teachers  of  primary  education. 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION. 

^Reference  has  been  made  to  the  establishment  of  intermediate 
schools,  at  first  uniform,  later  differentiated,  substituted  for  the 
former  fifth  and  sixth  years  of  the  primary  school  and  intended  to 
bridge  the  chasm  between  the  primary  and  the  secondary  schools. 
This  marked  a  further  innovation,  in  that  secondary  education  had 
always  been  left  in  Argentina  to  the  Provinces,  the  State  nationally 
exercising  only  a  nominal  oversight  of  this  division.  For  financial 
reasons,  as  well  as  because  of  the  necessity  of  giving  uniformity  to 
a  type  so  widely  scattered,  the  intermediate  school  was  from  the  very 
first  regarded  as  national  in  scope.  It  may  be  likened  in  many 
respects  to  the  junior  high  school  of  American  cities.  It  was  designed 
to  give  instruction  of  a  general  and  cultural  nature  in  languages, 
history,  geography,  and  mathematics,  combined  with  experimental 
studies  in  the  elements  of  physical  and  natural  science.  Much  earlier 
entrance,  its  advocates  claimed,  would  thus  be  possible  upon  subjects 
of  vocational  and  technical  character,  which  should  test  the  nascent 
abilities  and  aptitudes  of  the  pupil.  Especial  attention  was  to  be 
given  woodworking,  typewriting,  stenography,  linotyping,  decora- 
tive design,  photography,  and  special  arts  and  crafts  favored  by 
local  conditions. 

This  experiment,  though  marking  an  advance  in  educational 
methods,  was  unsuccessful,  and  after  a  year  of  existence  such  schools 
were  discontinued.  They  did,  however,  affect  instruction  in  secondary 
education,  leaving  their  impress  in  the  radical  requirement  of  early 
specialization  after  the  fifth  and  sixth  higher  primary  grades. 

The  educational  policy  of  Argentina  thus  returned  to  its  tra- 
ditional status;  and  secondary  education  still  centers  around  the 
37  colegios  nacionales,  institutions  for  boys  of  10  to  14  years  of  age, 


ARGENTINA.  23 

which  admit  those  with  leaving  certificates  from  the  fifth  and  sixth 
grades  of  the  higher  primary  schools,  and  by  revisal  of  1911  offer 
courses  arranged  by  fourfold  division  of  subjects  into  the  physical- 
mathematical,  the  chemical-biological,  the  historical-geographical, 
and  the  literary-philosophical  groups.  A  decree  of  the  National 
Council  dated  February,  19 1C,  made  the  certificate  of  sixth  grade  of 
the  public  school  obligatory  for  admission  to  the  colegio.  This  was 
regarded  as  going  far  toward  settling  two  fundamental  difficulties— 
the  first,  the  long  desired  abolition  of  the  entrance  examination,  as 
discredited  by  experience  and  prejudicial  to  secondary  training, 
and  the  second,  the  official  recognition  of  the  compulsory  attendance 
law  for  children  of  6  to  14  years. 

Among  the  new  subjects  assigned  for  the  colegios  is  the  study  of 
Italian,  now  restored  after  being  abolished  by  previous  decree.  In 
accordance  with  this  requirement,  a  course  in  this  language  has  been 
instituted  in  the  normal  schools  for  the  preparation  of  teachers. 

The  close  connection  of  the  interests  of  the  colegio  nacionale  with 
the  university  is  brought  out  in  the  report  of  the  rector  of  the 
National  University  of  Buenos  Aires  for  1916.  It  is  of  significance 
as  striking  out  new  lines  in  what  had  always  been  a  conservative 
division,  and  carried  weight  in  the  fluid  state  of  public  opinion  on 
education  which  prevailed  just  at  that  time. 

Taking  up  the  instructional  aspect  of  secondary  education,  and 
the  claims  put  forward  by  zealous  partisans  of  the  opposing  views 
that  the  colegios  should  prepare  either  for  higher  studies  or  for 
practical  life,  but  not  for  both,  he  urged  legal  provisions  for  both 
forms  of  training  to  supply  the  demand  felt  in  all  modern  states  for 
men  of  thought  as  well  as  efficiency  in  action.  In  the  light  of  this 
demand  all  wrangling  as  to  programs  of  study  could  only  be  to  the 
damage  of  the  State.  Since  the  Argentine  colegios  half  a  century 
ago  were  modeled  after  the  French  lycees,  with  their  emphasis  upon 
the  cultural  studies,  the  world  had  moved  far,  economically  and  so- 
cially, and  sane  modifications  in  secondary  education  now  clamored 
for  recognition. 

On  the  side  of  administration  the  peculiar  question  for  Argentina, 
the  land  of  great  distances  and  many  climates  and  productions,  was 
whether  the  best  organization  for  secondary  instruction  was  the 
concentration  of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  council  or  of  the  minister 
of  public  instruction,  or  more  or  less  complete  autonomy  to  be 
granted  to  the  individual  institution.  In  either  case  the  fixed  prin- 
ciple was  to  be  accepted  that  the  universities  were  directly  con- 
cerned in  the  discipline  and  studies  of  the  students  they  were  to 
receive,  and  that  they  should  therefore  have  the  right  of  intervening 
in  matters  of  organization  and  studies  of  the  colegios. 


24  BIENNIAL  SUKVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

A  just  decentralization  of  the  colegios  could  be  easily  realized 
and  would  bring  such  beneficial  results  as :  (1)  More  direct  and  imme- 
diate action  of  the  authorities;  (2)  closer  articulation  of  the  colegios 
with  the  universities  in  the  matter  of  studies  for  preparation  for 
the  latter;  (3)  formation  of  intellectual  groups  that  would  be 
encouraged  to  take  root  permanently  in  the  Provinces,  thus  avoid- 
ing the  wholesale  migration  of  the  directing  classes  to  the  capital; 
(4)  ease  of  reform,  as  contrasted  with  the  present  system,  wherein 
every  change  in  the  program  of  studies  was  a  disturbance  whose 
utility  was  not  always  certain;  (5)  the  best  selection,  so  far  as 
possible,  of  the  personal  directive  staff  of  the  colegios,  as  the  men 
in  higher  education  would  be  familiar  with  the  problems  of  sec- 
ondary instruction;  (6)  economy  of  administrative  expense;  (7) 
the  possibility  of  transforming  certain  of  the  colegios  into  schools 
of  arts,  trades,  and  industries  in  which  general  instruction,  con- 
tinuing the  primary,  might  be  combined  with]  the  special  and 
technical  preparation  so  much  needed  for  the  material  well-being 
of  the  several  regions  of  the  Republic. 

In  the  projected  law  of  public  instruction,  introduced  in  August, 
1918,  it  is  provided  that  all  matters  relating  to  secondary  education 
shall  be  under  the  authority  of  the  national  universities,  with  full 
power  to  regulate  content  of  courses,  curricula,  etc.  This  is  mani- 
festly a  step  suggested  by  the  traditional  system  of  Spain,  in  which 
the  standard  secondary  schools  (institutes)  are  arranged  according 
to  university  districts  and  are  governed  by  university  rector  and 
council.  Its  wisdom  and  advisability  for  a  country  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere  have  been  variously  considered. 

TECHNICAL    EDUCATION. 

By  the  projected  law  of  August,  1918,  a  National  Board  of  Tech- 
nical Education  is  to  be  established  to  ascertain  the  progress  of 
this  branch  of  education  in  other  countries,  to  adapt  whatever  may 
be  possible  to  the  conditions  and  needs  of  Argentina,  to  foster 
technical  instruction  in  the  national  schools,  and  to  keep  in  touch 
with  its  progress  throughout  the  world. 

NORMAL-SCHOOL  TRAINING. 

The  sequence  of  studies  prescribed  for  pupils  of  the  normal  school 
according  to  the  decree  of  March,  1916,  is  also  worthy  of  notice. 
Immediately  following,  and  based  upon  the  intermediate  schools 
which,  as  described  above,  were  discarded  after  trial,  the  normal 
school  required  four  years  for  the  teachers'  diploma,  after  which 
the  student  might  proceed  to  higher  studies  for  the  degree  of 


AKGENTINA.  25 

teacher  of  modern  languages  in  two  years  or  that  of  teacher 
of  languages  in  normal  school  in  three  years,  or  that  of  teacher 
of  philosophy  in  any  institution  in  six  years.  A  commend- 
able gain  of  one  year  in  each  of  these  was  effected,  and  this 
feature  is  to  be  embodied  in  the  new  provisions  now  under  con- 
sideration. In  addition,  the  new  project  of  educational  law  outlines 
a  teacher's  course  of  four  years,  clearly  differentiating  between  the 
general  or  cultural  and  the  pedagogical  or  professional  courses. 
The  former  are  assigned  to  the  first  three  years  as  required;  the 
latter  are  reserved  for  the  last  year,  constituting  an  intensive  cur- 
riculum of  pedagogical  history  and  methods  and  practice  teaching 
in  the  required  annexed  practice  school.  The  completion  (1918)  of 
the  Normal  School  Sarmiento  in  Buenos  Aires,  named  in  honor  of 
the  founder  of  popular  education  in  South  America,  is  to  be  noted. 
This  school,  capable  of  accommodating  1,000  pupils  and  equipped 
with  the  most  modern  apparatus,  ig  worthy  of  comparison  with 
the  finest  schools  in  the  other  countries  educationally  most  advanced. 

HIGHER  EDUCATION. 

With  the  provision  incorporated  in  the  projected  law,  by  which 
control  of  national  secondary  education  is  vested  in  the  universities, 
the  latter  will  touch  national  education  much  more  intimately  than 
ever  before.  The  universities  of  Argentina  are  those  of  Buenos 
Aires,  Cordoba,  and  La  Plata,  which  are  national,  and  those  of 
Santa  Fe  and  Tucuman,  which  are  provincial  but  will  soon  be  na- 
tionalized. In  1917  there  was  a  growing  feeling  in  university  circles 
in  favor  of  decentralization,  with  greater  degree  of  autonomy  for 
each  university.  The  report  of  the  rector  of  the  university  of 
Buenos  Aires  for  1917  was  of  interest  as  showing  the  effect  of  this 
upon  the  colegios  as  well  as  the  universities.  How  far  this  has  been 
checked  by  the  projected  provision  to  intrust  secondary  education 
to  universities  can  not  be  learned. 

The  unrest  among  the  student  bodies  in  the  institutions  of  higher 
education  has  constituted  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature  of 
the  educational  history  of  the  past  year.  In  Buenos  Aires  reform 
was  demanded  in  the  statutes  under  which  the  university  was  gov- 
erned, and  the  adoption  of  methods  in  conformity  with  new  tenden- 
cies in  university  instruction.  The  students  demanded  especially  the 
right  to  vote  for  the  election  of  the  authorities.  Satisfactory  agree- 
ment was  reached,  and  the  university,  after  several  days  of  suspen- 
sion of  classes  and  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the  student  body, 
resumed  instruction,  which  was  uninterrupted  for  the  rest  of  the 
year.  At  the  University  of  Cordoba  the  conflict  between  the  stu- 
dents and  the  authorities  assumed  more  serious  proportions.  Eegu- 
134132°— 20 4 


26  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF   EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

lar  work  was  suspended,  the  efforts  of  the  mediator  appointed  by 
the  National  Government  to  hear  the  claims  of  the  student  body  and 
to  decide  upon  the  just  and  practical  course  for  the  university  author- 
ities to  adopt  were  unsatisfactory  to  the  complainants,  'and  the  au- 
thority of  the  minister  of  public  instruction  was  invoked.  Upon 
investigation  the  latter  official  advocated  in  his  report  to  the  execu- 
tive a  complete  reorganization  of  the  university  in  its  statutes,  regu- 
lations, acts  of  discipline,  and  staff  of  professors.  These  changes 
were  ratified  by  the  executive  and  were  practically  embodied  in  the 
project  of  the  law  submitted  to  the  Congress  in  those  sections  per- 
taining to  university  education.  In  the  other  three  universities, 
those  of  La  Plata,  Tucuman,  and  Santa  Fe,  the  disturbances  which 
impeded  the  prosecution  of  the  regular  routine  of  studies  were  com- 
paratively insignificant,  though  the  spirit  of  unrest  was  marked  and 
many  of 'the  reforms  and  changes  secured  in  the  two  leading  univer- 
sities were  readily  accepted. 

The  growth  of  the  so-called  student  centers  (centres  estudiantiles) 
has  been  a  feature  of  higher  education  during  the  past  two  years. 
These  organizations  have  come  to  be  representative  of  student  life 
and  of  the  student  point  of  view,  and  have  therefore  gained  much 
importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  authorities.  They  are  organized  ac- 
cording to  departments  of  studies,  such  as  the  centers  of  medical 
and  dental  students^  of  engineering  students,  of  political  science  stu- 
dents, of  students  of  architecture,  and  of  law.  Each  numbers  from 
100  to  500  members.  They  are  grouped  as  a  whole  into  the  Univer- 
sity Federation  of  Buenos  Aires,  in  which  each  is  represented  by 
delegates,  and  which  is  regarded  as  the  mouthpiece  of  all  univer- 
sity students  in  the  metropolis. 

Plans  are  already  under  way  by  the  executive  council  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Buenos  Aires  for  the  celebration  of  the  first  centenary  of 
its  foundation,  which  will  occur  in  October,  1921.  Invitations  have 
been  extended  to  the  institutions  of  higher  education  in  all  countries 
of  the  world  to  designate  and  send  representatives.  Though  the 
actual  building  of  the  ancient  colegio  nacional,  in  which  the  -univer- 
sity began  its  operation,  has  been  materially  changed,  yet  the  pres- 
ent building  occupies  the  same  site,,  and  it  has  been  decided  to  hold 
the  centennial  celebration  In  it. 

Of  interest  is  the  projected  foundation  of  a  popular  university 
at  Buenos  Aires,  constituted  along  industrial  lines  and  frankly  de- 
signed to  counteract  the  technical  and  industrial  influence  of  North 
American  universities  in  South  American  countries. 

A  Hirvey  of  educational  progress  in  Argentina  may  fittingly  con- 
clude with  mention  of  the  annual  American  Congress  of  Education 
:m<l  Commercial  Extension,  held  in  Montevideo  in  January,  1019, 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION   IN   BRAZIL.  27 

in  which  representatives  of  all  the  Latin-American  countries  par- 
ticipated, and  those  of  Argentina,  from  her  economic  and  educational 
leadership,  were  most  prominent.  The  proceedings  of  the  congress 
will  be  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Uruguay. 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  BRAZIL. 

Educational  activity  in  Brazil  has  been  most  marked  in  the  field 
of  vocational  education.  A  special  commission,  appointed  by  the 
Director  General  of  Public  Instruction,  consisting  of  five  experienced 
teachers  in  subjects  of  this  nature,  was  instructed  to  formulate 
courses  for  the  State  schools  which  were  to  be  established  by  law  in 
the  Federal  District.  They  were  to  serve  as  models  for  subsequent 
schools  of  the  same  character  in  the  several  States  and  Territories. 
The  commission,  of  which  Senhor  Coryntho  da  Fonseca  was  the 
spokesman,  after  several  months  of  conference  and  personal  visits  of 
inspection  to  the  vocational  schools  already  existent  in  the  several 
centers,  especially  in  Sao  Paulo,  and  after  hearing  reports  from  active 
teachers  in  the  subjects,  presented  its  report  in  March,  1919.  It  was 
approved  by  the  Vice  President,  serving  ad  interim  for  the  Presi- 
dent, and  was  recommended  by  him  to  be  put  into  actual  operation 
pending  its  formal  enactment  into  law  by  the  Congress. 

The  report  as  finally  presented  rested  upon  four  main  considera- 
tions: 

1.  The  State,  in  the  field  of  instruction,  has  primarily  an  educa- 
tional function  and  only  secondarily  a  vocational  one.     Course^  in 
shop  training,  designed  to  awake  and  develop  an  aptitude  in  the 
pupil  for  a  particular  industry,  must  of  course  enter  into  any  well- 
rounded  scheme  of  education.     This  in  turn  must  be  designed  to 
promote  a  general  and  not  a  specialized  technical  education  which 
'will  introduce  both  sexes  to  industrial  and  commercial  life.     For 
practical  reasons  of  expense,  if  for  no  other,  the  State  should  not 
be  expected  to  prepare  pupils  for  specialized  vocations. 

2.  The  task  of  the  commission  being  to  deal  with  the  branche-  <>i 
vocational  training  best  adapted  to  give  the  pupil  a  broad  outlook 
upon  general  industrial  activities,  the  commission  judged  it  best  to 
confine  its  recommendations  to  manual  work  of  construction  in  wood, 
metal,  and  plastic  material.     In  methods  as  well  asr  content  of  in- 
struction it  is  emphasized  that  such  work  must  proceed  along  the 
lines  of  teaching  by  example.    In  such  teaching  much  that  is  old 
and  fundamental  must  be  stressed  by  way  of  throwing  light  upon  the 
elements  of  the  training  that  are  common  to  all  branches  of  manual 
arts. 


28  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

3.  In  its  decision  to  urge  a  general  attitude  toward  industrial  train- 
ing rather  than  specialized  methods  peculiar  to  one  branch,  the  com- 
mission was  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  all  except  one  of  the  di- 
rectors of  the  vocational  institutions  in  Brazil.     Only  one  advocated 
specialized  instruction.    Written  representations  of  the  faculties  of 
the  vocational  schools  Alvaro  Baptista,  and  Souza  Aguiar,  in  Kio, 
further  confirmed  this  view. 

4.  The  results  of  vocational  instruction  in  Brazil  as  actually  ob- 
served within  the  last  few  years  convinced  the  commission — 

(a)  That  unspecialized  training  best  provided  the  foundations  for 
good  citizenship  as  well  as  industrial  training. 

(b)  That  by  this  training  the  latent  technical  aptitudes  of  the 
student  were  more  effectively  revealed  and  developed,  as  shown  by 
steady  increase  in  salaries  of  the  graduates,  than  was  the  case  with  the 
apprentices  who  had  been  trained  exclusively  in  one  line. 

(c)  That  the  superior  adaptation  of  the  graduates  of  the  general 
vocational  school  had  been  shown  by  tables  giving  information  as  to 
their  progress  in  skill  and  value  to  their  employers.     These  tables 
were  naturally  incomplete,  but  their  general  drift  was  undeniable. 

(d)  That  the  chief  cause  of  the  poor  attendance  upon  the  voca- 
tional instruction  for  boys  is  the  prevalent  idea  that  the  vocational 
school  is  an  index  of  lower  social  standing,  enrolling  only  those  boys 
that  can  not  obtain  any  other  means  of  education.    Thus  the  voca- 
tional school  is  sharply  differentiated  socially  from  other  types  of 
schools.     It  suffers  from  being  regarded  as  preeminently  the  school 
to  train  workmen.     The  commission  had  in  mind  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring public  sentiment  for  the  passing  of  this  traditional  prejudice 
when  it  attempted  to  inspire  a  just  estimate  of  manual  work  in  the 
public  mind  and  to  organize  such  courses  as  would  adequately  carry 
out  this  idea. 

(e)  That  the  vocational  school  must  be  established  as  a  direct  con- 
tinuation of  the  primary  school,  ministering  to  the  innate  tendency 
in  the  child  to  realize  things  with  his  own  hands ;  that  thus  the  tra- 
ditional and  depressing  prejudice  mentioned  would  be  counteracted, 
as  time  would  not  be  given  for  it  to  intervene  in  the  child's  mind. 
The  workshop,  thus  articulated  with  general  training,  would  come  to 
be  the  fulfillment  of  an  aspiration,  inculcating  as  well  the  love  of 
work  and  respect  for  it. 

(/)  That  the  success  of  the  projected  schools  depends  largely 
upon  the  cooperation  of  the  industrial  firms  of  Brazil,  which  should 
be  appealed  to  for  their  sympathy  and  for  the  encouragement  of 
their  adolescent  employees  to  attend  these  schools;  that  the  grant- 
ing of  daylight  hours  to  employees  to  attend  such  schools,  as  has 
been  done  in  England  and  France,  with  the  consequent  improve- 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION   IN   BRAZIL.  29 

merit  in  the  physical  and  mental  condition  of  the  pupils,  is  a  step 
to  be  commended  to  all  employers  as  patriotic  citizens. 

The  salient  provisions  of  the  report  of  the  commission  are  as 
follows : 

ABTICE  1.  The  technical  and  vocational  Instruction  maintained  by  the  pre- 
fecture of  the  Federal  District  has  for  its  aim  to  complete  the  primary  ele- 
mentary instruction  by  means  of  a  general  technical  education  leading  the 
\  (tilth  of  both  sexes  preferably  to  industrial  and  commercial  activities. 

ABT.  2.  Technical  and  vocational  instruction  shall  be  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing types  of  schools: 

(a)  Primary  vocational  schools. 

(&)   Secondary  vocational  institutes. 

(c)  Secondary  agricultural  schools. 

(d)  Vocational  finishing  courses. 

(e)  Normal  school  of  arts  and  crafts. 

Types  (a),  (rf),  and  (<<)  shall  be  day  schools  exclusively;  types  (&)  and  u) 
shall  offer  boarding  accommodations  for  pupils  from  distance. 

ABT.  3.  In  schools  of  types  (a)  and  (d)  instruction  shall  be  imparted 
predominantly  in-  the  recitation  rooms. 

AST.  4.  The  courses  of  the  primary  vocational  school  for  boys  shall  include 
the  following  subjects: 

(a)  The  usual  subjects  of  the  complementary  course  of  the  primary  schools, 
with  fuller  development  of  the  studies  of  physics,  chemistry,  natural  history, 
hygiene,  and  mathematics. 

(&)  Modeling  and  free-hand  and  mechanical  drawing. 

ART.  5.  The  courses  of  the  primary  vocational  school  for  girls  shall  include: 

(a)  The  usual  subjects  of  the  complementary  course  of  the  primary  schools, 
with  fuller  development  of  the  studies  of  hygiene  and  domestic  economy. 

(6)  Modeling  and  free-hand  drawing. 

ART.  6.  The  Subjects   of   the   vocational    finishing   courses   shall    include : 

(a)  In  the  commercial  course,  Portuguese  and  civic  Instruction,  commer- 
cial geography,  French  and  one  other  modern  language,  English  or  German, 
to  be  chosen  by  the  pupil,  commercial  correspondence  and  accounting,  type- 
writing, stenography,  and  arithmetic. 

(&)  In  the  industrial  course,  Portuguese  and  civic  Instruction,  Arithmetic, 
and  geography,  elements  of  applied  physics,  chemistry,  and  natural  history, 
accounting  as  related  to  the  particular  vocation  selected  by  the  pupil,  free- 
hand and  mechanical  drawing. 

ART.  7.  The  vocational  finishing  courses  are  designed  primarily  for  youni: 
men  already  employed  in  industry  and  commerce,  who  seek  to  improve  their 
vocational  knowledge. 

ART.  8.  The  two  types  of  vocational  finishing  schools  may  be  taught  conjointly 
in  the  same  building. 

ART.  9.  Teachers  and  assistants  imparting  instruction  shall  be  appointed  as 
follows : 

(«)  There  shall  be  a  teacher  and  so  many  assistants  for  each  branch  as 
shall  be  made  necessary  by  the  attendance. 

(&)  For  the  instruction  in  technical  accounting  related  to  each  vocation 
there  shall  be  employed  special  teachers  only  where  15  or  more  students  are 
enrolled  for  each  course,  and  they  shall  receive  salaries  only  when  actually 
leaching.  The  same  teachers  shall  be  in  charge  of  the  various  related  branches 
of  technical  instruction  in  the  shops. 


30  BIENNIAL,  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

ART.  10.  The  courses  in  the  secondary  vocational  institutes  for  boys  shall 

include — 

(a)  The  elementary  and  middle  instruction  for  pupils  who  have  not  had  them. 

(b)  Physical  exercises  and  military  drill. 

(c)  VOCP!  and  instrumental  music. 

ART.  11.  The  courses  in  the  vocational  institutes  for  girls  shall  include — 

(a)  Primary  instruction  for  such  pupils  as  have  not  had  it. 

(6)  Vocational  drawing  and  modeling. 

In  the  vocational  institutes  the  elementary  primary  instruction  shall  be  fol- 
lowed by  an  intensive  course  in  manual  arts,  such  as  sloyd,  wood  carving,  and 
weaving  in  straw,  vine,  and  bamboo. 

ART.  12.  The  primary  vocational  schools  shall  also  offer  a  commercial  course 
consisting  of  the  following  subjects: 

(a)  Commercial  correspondence  and  accounting. 

(&)  Typewriting  and  stenography. 

(c)  French  and  one  other  modern  language,  English  or  German. 

ART.  13.  Instruction  in  the  workshops  of  vocational  schools  for  boys  shall 
be  given  first  in  a  general  compulsory  course  of  three  years,  during  which  the 
pupil  shall  in  turn  be  trained  in  the  workshops  in  cold  and  molten  metals,  in- 
cluding foundry  work  and  wrought-iron  work.  The  pupil  shall  then  be  allowed 
to  specialize  in  any  workshop  or  section  at  his  choice.  The  pupils  of  the  voca- 
tional institutes  for  boys  shall  likewise  take  a  compulsory  course  in  horticulture 
and  kindred  subjects. 

ART.  14.  The  agricultural  schools  and  the  vocational  institutes  shall  require 
attendance  on  the  courses  of  civil  training  and  agronomy,  with  optional  speciali- 
zation in  any  line  selected  when  the  general  course  is  completed. 

ART.  15.  In  the  vocational  schools  and  institutes  for  girls  there  shall  be  a 
compulsory  general  course  upon  the  following  practical  subjects:  Cooking, 
laundering,  ironing  and  starching,  housekeeping,  sewing  and  dressmaking. 
Along  with  this  general  course  the  pupils  shall  attend  certain  vocational  courses 
chosen  by  themselves  from  sewing,  lace  making,  and  embroidery,  artificial-flower 
work,  etc. 

ART.  16.  For  admission  to  the  schools  of  vocational  instruction  the  following 
f-'luill  be  the  legal  requirements  as  to  age: 

(a)  For  vocational  and  agricultural  schools,  minimum  age  13,  maximum  21. 

(fc)  For  the  vocational  institutes  for  boys,  minimum  age  10,  maximum  13. 

(c)  For  the  vocational  institutes  for  girls,  minimum  age  7,  maximum  13. 

( tf)  For  the  normal  school  of  arts  and  trades,  minimum  age  14,  maximum  25. 

(e)  For  the  vocational  finishing  courses,  minimum  age  13. 

ART.  17.  For  matriculation  in  the  vocational  and  agricultural  schools  and  the 
finishing  courses  the  candidates  shall  submit  to  an  examination  upon  the  sub- 
jects taught  in  the  middle  course  of  the  primary  school.  In  the  commercial 
«»urses  of  the  finishing  schools,  in  the  girls'  schools,  and  in  the  normal  school 
of  MI-IS  jind  1  rades,  the  entrance  examination  shall  be  upon  the  subjects  of  the 
final  examination  of  the  primary  schools. 

ART.  18.  The  school  year  in  the  entire  system  of  vocational  instruction,  with 
thf  exception  of  agricultural  schools,  shall  begin  March  1  and  close  November 
30.  The  period  from  December  1  to  December  24  shall  be  devoted  to  examina- 
nnd  to  school  exhibitions.  In  the  agricultural  schools,  because  of  their 
,  the  pupils  shall  have  60  days  of  annual  vacation  granted  to  them  in 
by  ili<«  director  in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  agricultural  sea- 
.-Hid  lul.or-. 

ART.  H>.  Tin-  f-oursos  of  the  primary  vocational  schools,  of  the  institutes,  and 
of  the  finishing  courses  shall  be  divided  into  periods  of  4  to  5  yours;  the  finish- 


CHILE.  31 

ing  courses  into  periods  of  three  years;   and   the  commercial  course  of  Hit- 
schools  for  girls  into  a  period  of  two  years. 

ART.  24.  The  officials  of  inspection  of  technical  and  vocational  instrm  i  i.,n 
shall  draw  up  annual  statistics  of  attendance  and  of  the  results  of  the 
tional  instruction  upon  the  bases  of  data  furnished  by  the  directors  of  the  sev- 
eral schools  and,  so  far  as  possible,  by  employers  and  by  tlw>  former  pupils 
who  have  themselves  left  the  schools.  These  statistics  shall  relate  to  tin- 
following  topics: 

(a)  Number  of  pupils  placed,  with  indication  of  the  establishments  where 
they  are  employed. 

(6)   Initial  salary  obtained  by  them  as  related  to  tbe  period  of  schooling. 

(c)  Technical    aptitude    revealed    by   former   pupils    and    their    capacity   of 
adaptation  to  the  various  industrial  works. 

(d)  Progress  of  increase  in  salary  of  former  pupils. 

(e)  All  available  information  as  to  individual  former  pupils  with  regard  t«» 
the  advantages  or  disadvantages  of  theiF  schooling  in  the  decision  of  economic 
life,  and  their  success  in  it. 

ART.  25,  All  posts  of  assistants  and  substitutes  in  the  vocational  system  shall 
be  filled  by  competitive  examinations. 

(a)  For  the  assistant  in  drawing  in  the  vocational  schools  in  institutes  for 
boys,  the  examination  shall  be  tests  in  drawing,  in  artistic  training,  and  in 
pe<  I  :i  gogical  fitness. 

(b)  For  the  filling  of  the  same  post  in  the  vocational  schools  and  institutes 
for  girls  the  examination  shall  be  tests  in  writing  at  dictation,  in  decorative 
composition,  in  embroidery  and  lacework,  and  in  pedagogical  iitness. 

(r)Tlie  competitive  test  for  filling  the  post  of  substitutes  in  shopwork  shall 
be  upon  vocational  design  of  an  assigned  theme  for  shopwork  and  the  execution 
of  the  same. 

ART.  26.  The  teachers  in  vocational  instruction  shall  be  named  by 
promotion  of  the  assistants  and  substitutes. 

ART.  27.  There  shall  be  a  substitute  for  every  group  of  20  pupils  in  shop- 
work,  and  an  assistant  for  every  class  of  30  pupils. 

ART.  2S.  When  any  primary  school  is  transformed  into  a  vocational  school 
there  shall  be  annexed  the  elementary  primary  course  in  which  shall  be  taught 
intensively  the  manual  arts  prescribed  for  the  elementary  ii.-tni.-i ion  of  the 
institutes,  but  the  pupils  shall  attend  the.  shopwork  of  the  vocational  coin>e- 
only  when  they  have  completed  tne  work  of  tike  middle  course  and  attained  the 
age  of  13  years. 


EDUCATION  IN  CHILE. 

PBELIMIXAKT. 

The  last  two  years  have  seen  in  Chile  a  distinct  gathering  up  of 
the  threads  of  educational  purpose.  The  feeling  of  di?  satisfaction 
with  the  primary  school  system,  for  many  years  inarticulate,  has 
found  a  voice,  and  all  signs  point  to  Chile's  finally  securing  a  mod- 
ernized system  of  public  instruction.  The  head  and  front  of  the 
indictment  drawn  by  national  students  of  education  has  been  the 
complete  Germanization  of  the  system  through  the  employment  of  a 
considerable  number  of  German  educational  experts  during  the  do- 


32  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

cade  from  1904  to  1914.  The  climax  came  in  the  revelations  of  the 
propagandist  activities  of  the  German  educators  brought  out  at  the 
meeting  of  the  National  Educational  Association  in  1917. 

Financial  support  of  public  instruction  in  Chile  has  never  been 
stinted,  so  far  as  its  existent  state  was  concerned.  As  merely  one 
item  may  be  adduced  the  fact  that  in  March,  1916,  the  Congress 
authorized  the  President  to  devote  to  public  instruction  for  specific 
aims  such  as  the  building  and  remodeling  of  schoolhouses,  $4,000,000 
annually  for  10  years,  through  the  medium  of  the  Central  Council  of 
Education,  in  which  was  vested  the  discretion  as  to  methods  and 
objects  of  the  expenditure.  In  1918  the  budget  was  voted  by  the 
Congress  of  $35,450,000  for  public  instruction,  as  against  that  of 
$32,373,404  for  1917.  So  that  the  authorities  of  the  Government 
must  justly  be  credited  with  a  practical  interest  in  education  which 
encourages  teachers  and  other  active  workers  in  their  efforts  toward 
greater  efficiency. 

In  1917  there  had  been  increased  discussion  of  matters  educa- 
tional; and  in  June  of  that  year  President  Sanfuentes  in  his  mes- 
sage showed  that  the  time  had  come  to  impress  on  the  national  sys- 
tem of  public  instruction  a  more  practical  stamp,  making  it  adequate 
to  the  needs  of  everyday  life  and  the  special  conditions  of  the  coun- 
try. Along  with  this  he  urged  the  specialization  of  secondary  educa- 
tion as,  just  then,  the  urgent  and  opportune  point  of  attack  for  the 
development  of  Chile's  scientific  and  industrial  possibilities. 

This  message  was  followed  by  action  of  the  Congress  which  clearly 
showed  the  traditional  line  of  cleavage  long  prevailing  in  Chile's 
social  and  political  system.  The  demand  for  some  form  of  modernized 
public  instruction  could  no  longer  be  repressed;  and  a  conservative 
deputy  introduced  the  project  of  a  law  to  insert  in  the  constitu- 
tion a  provision  for  compulsory  primary  schooling  and  compulsory 
religious  instruction,  the  only  modification  of  the  latter  being  the 
concession  to  the  parent  to  choose  the  forms  and  means  of  such  in- 
struction. The  radical  party  was  not  slow  in  countering  with  a 
project  adopting  the  feature  of  compulsory  attendance  but  decen- 
tralizing and  completely  secularizing  the  existing  system.  The  lat- 
ter proposal,  now  made  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Chilean 
legislation,  was  especially  bold,  as  Chile  has  never  done  away  with  the 
essentially  religious  tone  of  her  education.  She  retains  representa- 
tives of  the  State  church  on  her  National  Council  of  Education, 
freely  recognizes  parochial  primary  schools,  and  has  her  secondary 
schools  largely  managed  by  religious  instructors  and  under  distinc- 
tively religious  auspices. 

The  compromise  bill  formulated  by  a  specially  appointed  commis- 
sion of  the  Congress  sought  to  satisfy  both  extremes.  It  vested  su- 


CHILE.  33 

preme  administrative  authority  in  educational  matters  in  a  council 
of  18,  sitting  in  Santiago,  presided  over  by  the  Minister  of  Justice 
and  Instruction;  but  it  allowed.  11  of  the  members  to  be  named  by 
the  Senate,  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  the  President  of  the  Re- 
public. This  feature  was  severely  criticized  by  the  liberals  and  by 
the  National  Educational  Association  as  still  keeping  educational  au- 
thority in  the  hands  of  politicians,  not  intrusting  it  to  men  really 
interested  in  education,  and  making  it  possible  to  block  all  educa- 
tional progress  whenever  desired. 

The  bill  made  four  years'  attendance  in  primary  schools,  private 
or  public,  compulsory  for  all  children  between  7  and  13,  and  required 
all  reaching  the  latter  age  without  completing  the  prescribed  course 
to  continue  until  15.  Poverty  could  not  be  pleaded  in  excuse,  as 
grants  by  the  State  were  specified  and  graduated  in  amounts  accord- 
ing to  need.  Exemption  from  religious  instruction  was  allowed  upon 
written  application  of  the  parent  or  upon  certification  of  the  local 
junta,  another  feature  opposed  by  the  National  Educational  Associa- 
tion on  the  ground  that  the  junta's  powers  could  never  be  so  ampli- 
fied legally.  Programs  of  study  and  schedules  should  be  under  the 
authority  of  the  inspector  general  of  primary  instruction.  Primary 
instruction  was  to  be  imparted  to  complete  illiterates  in  schools  called 
supplementary,  managed  independently  of  existing  primary  schools, 
and  to  partial  illiterates  in  schools  called,  complementary,  conducted 
in  conjunction  with  existent  primary  schools. 

The  bill,  as  outlined  above,  encountered  opposition  from  many 
sources,  and  still  remains  unenacted.  Pending  its  passage,  the 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  by  virtue  of  the  power  vested  in  him, 
issued  in  1918  a  decree  organizing  primary  education  in  three  grades 
of  two  years  each,  continued  by  one  grade  of  vocational  education 
of  from  one  to  three  years.  Attendance  is  not  specifically  compulsory, 
though  the  local  junta  has  power  so  to  declare  it  in  the  schools  of  its 
jurisdiction.  The  requirements  as  to  qualifications  of  a  primary 
teacher  are  made  more  rigorous ;  he  must  be  a  citizen  of  Chile,  of  good 
character,  not  less  than  18  nor  more  than  40  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  appointment,  and  a  graduate  of  a  Government  normal  school,  or 
holding  a  degree  of  a  Chilean  or  recognized  foreign  institution. 

ILLITERACY. 

The  problem  of  illiteracy  in  Chile  is  a  serious  one,  the  estimated 
figures  for  1917  showing  959,061  illiterates  out  of  a  total  population 
of  3,249,279.  Since  the  year  1900  the  struggle  against  it  has  grown  in 
vigor.  The  National  Educational  Association  has  shown  especial 
efficiency,  and  has  worked  through  committees  having  the  following 
phases  in  charge:  Compulsory  school  attendance,  the  legal  require- 


34  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

inents,  condition  of  the  schools  and  the  teaching  force,  school  revenues, 
school  buildings  and  sanitation,  and  special  education. 

This  steady  pressure  prepared  public  sentiment  for  the  leadership 
of  the  most  influential  agency  ever  invoked  in  the  fight  against  illiter- 
acy, viz,  the  conferences  'organized  by  the  powerful  newspaper 
El  Mercurio.  Under  its  auspices  these  conferences  were  held  in  a 
3-days'  series  in  July,  1917,  and  were  attended  and  participated  in 
by  men  and  women  identified  with  every  phase  of  national  educa- 
tion. The  following  topics  were  the  salient  ones  of  those  discussed : 

1.  Comparative  study  of  illiteracy  statistics  in  various  countries. 

2.  Means  of  combating  illiteracy  in  leading  nations. 

3.  Practicable  means  of  action  in  Chile. 

4.  Means  of  contribution,  and  proportion  in  which  the  State,  the 

municipal  authorities,  and  the  Provinces  may  contribute  to 
the  budget  necessary. 

5.  Cooperation  of  private  initiative. 

6.  Means  of  making  school  attendance  compulsory. 

7.  Regulation  of  child  labor. 

8.  Reforms  necessary  in  actual  plans  of  study  and  in  classifica- 

tion of  schools. 

9.  Necessity  and  practical  means  of  giving  the  schools  a  more 

Nationalistic  character. 

10.  Minimum  of  knowledge  to  be  required  by  compulsory  attend- 

ance law. 

11.  Place  of  night  schools,  Sunday  schools,  and  traveling  schools. 

in  the  struggle  against  illiteracy. 

While  no  action  of  a  legal  character  resulted  from  these  confer- 
ences, yet  the  impetus  given  to  the  cause  was  powerful,  and  had 
weight  in  bringing  about  the  decree  and  the  projected  law  already 
outlined.  Such  a  move,  combining  at  once  social  and  economic  as 
well  as  educational  characteristics,  seeking  to  bring  public  opinion 
to  bear  on  the  solution  of  a  problem  underlying  the  life  of  a  nation, 
nnd  launched  by  a  newspaper,  is  unique  in  the  history  of  education. 

The  Territory  of  Magellanes  has  shown  itself  remarkably  efficient 
in  handling  the  problem  of  illiteracy.  It  is  the  southernmost  area  of 
the  country,  and  little  favored  by  nature,  being  a  long  strip  of 
barren  and  rocky  coast,  with  a  climate  singularly  bleak  and  un- 
inviting. Its  industries  are  based  exclusively  upon  its  mineral  re- 
sources; and  its  population,  though  intelligent,  is  very  sparse.  By 
the  census  of  1917,  its  percentage  of  illiteracy  was  20;  according 
to  the  estimate  of  the  author  of  a  study  of  the  Territory,  published 
in  (he  Anales  de  la  Uriiversidad,  April,  1918,  this  has  been  reduced 
to  7  per  cent.  Credit  is  largely  due  the  Society  of  Popular  Instruc- 
tion, a  private  organization,  established  in  1911,  which  offers  free 


CHILE.  35 

instruction  to  pupils  of  all  ages.  In  spite  of  the  prevailing  in^ 
clemency  of  the  climate,  the  sessions  of  its  day  and  night  schools 
are  excellently  attended.  The  system  is  centralized  in  Punta 
Arenas. 

PRIMARY  EDUCATION. 

Unlike  Argentina  and  Brazil,  primary  public  education  has  al- 
ways been  left  in  the  hands  of  the  central  national  government,  the 
individual  Province  having  control  of  financial  outlay  and  the  con- 
struction of  school  buildings,  and  this  only  when  requirements  of 
the  national  law  are  fulfilled.  Uniform  programs  of  study  and 
schedules  of  hours  are  enforced  throughout  the  nation.  But  condi- 
tions of  scarcity  of  materials  and  labor  render  it  impossible  to  keep 
many  of  the  old  buildings  in  repair.  The  tendency  long  criticized 
by  the  Association  of  Teachers,  to  cram  school  buildings  into  the  half 
dozen  larger  centers,  seems  in  a  fair  way  to  be  checked.1 

This  new  order  of  things  is  most  plainly  seen  in  the  attention 
paid  to  rural  schools,  Avhich  have  predominated  in  the  number  built 
since  1916.  The  Government  has  instructed  the  committee  on  public 
works  and  the  department  of  primary  instruction  to  develop  a  plan 
of  building  uniform  types  of  rural  school.  The  expenses  are  to  be 
borne  out  of  the  fund  just  mentioned.  Three  types  are  contem- 
plated, with  a  capacity  of  80,  160,  and  400  pupils  respectively,  sol- 
idly constructed,  conforming  strictly  to  all  modern  demands  of  sani- 
tation, lighting,  and  heating.  In  many  places  the  Xorth  American 
principle  of  consolidation  of  schools  has  been  applied,  to  the  dis- 
tinct improvement  of  attendance  and  instruction,  200  small  and 
struggling  schools  having  been  abolished  and  100  annexed  to  others 
more  centrally  situated.  With  these  gains,  however,  the  crying 
need  in  Chile  is  acknowledged  to  be  more  schools.  It  is  estimated 
that  10,000  elementary  schools  are  yet  needed  for  her  approxi- 
mately 750,000  children,  of  whom  slightly  less  than  400,000  are  in 
the  schools  of  this  grade,  and  50,000  in  private  parochial  schools. 
All  educational  thinkers  are  agreed  that  the  situation  calls  for  legal 
compulsory  attendance  on  primary  instruction,  rigidly  enforced. 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION. 

Secondary  education  in  Chile  is  organized  in  three  grades:  (1) 
National  high  schools;  (2)  liceos  of  the  second  class,  and  (3)  com- 
plete liceos  of  the  first  class. 

(1)  The  high  schools  are  a  development  of  the  last  few  years,  and 
are  situated  only  in  the  larger  centers.  They  number  30  for  boys 

1  Criticism  has  been  freely  expressed  in  the  public  press  of  the  use  of  a  disproportion- 
ately large  part  of  the  primary  school  fund  voted  by  the  Congress  for  the  use  of  the 
executive. 


&6  BIENNIAL,  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

and  12  for  girls,  enrolling  less  than  12,000  pupils,  and  are  generally 
little  more  than  higher  elementary  schools.  They  are  almost  ex- 
clusively technical,  and  do  not  prepare  the  pupil  for  advanced 
study. 

(2)  The  liceos  of  the  second  class  (sometimes  called  colegios),  of 
which  about  100  exist  in  the  Provinces  and  Territories,  offer  courses 
covering  three  years  in  the  elementary  subjects  of  instruction  com- 
mon to  scientific  and  literary  groups. 

(3)  The  liceos  of  the  first  class,  numbering  40  for  boys  and  31 
for  girls,  and  offering  the  full  course  of  six  years,  are  representa- 
tive of  the  best  in  secondary  education  in  Latin-America,     Those 
for  boys,  following  the  tradition  of  the  Spanish  system  for  corre- 
sponding schools,   are   administered  by  the   University   of   Chile; 
those  for  girls,  by  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  and  the  National 
Council.     The  practical  and  scientific  wave  which  swept  over  this 
division  of  education  in  1915  caused  the  reinforcement  of  physical 
and  chemical  teaching.     Spanish,  history  and  geography,  religion 
(optional),  French,  mathematics,  natural  sciences,  gymnastics  and 
singing,  and  manual  training  run  through  all  six  years  of  the  course ; 
English  (or  German  or  Italian),  philosophy,  civics,  penmanship  and 
drawing,  mechanical  drawing  (optional),  extend  through  varying 
numbers  of  years.    Students  of  secondary  education  are  struck  with 
the  excessive  number  of  hours  required  weekly,  the  minimum  being 
29  for  the  first  year  and  the  maximum  33  for  each  of  the  last  three 
years. 

The  essential  purpose  of  the  liceo  of  the  first  class  is  to  prepare 
for  the  university,  or  for  the  professions;  and  national  scholarships 
are  granted,  including  maintenance  at  the  hostels,  or  annexed  board- 
ing halls  which  were  established  five  years  ago. 

The  system  of  secondary  education  has  long  been  criticized  by 
Chilean  educational  thinkers  as  being  too  largely  mental  and  literary, 
and  as  paying  little,  if  any,  attention  to  the  physical  and  moral.  The 
attempt  to  organize  sports  and  physical  exercises-  in  secondary  edu- 
cation has  met  far  less  encouragement  than  in  other  South  American 
countries. 

By  decree  of  May,  1917,  classes  for  illiterate  girls  over  7  years 
old  were  annexed  to  liceos  for  girls,  the  ministry  basing  the  number 
to  be  admitted  upon  the  attendance  of  the  year  previous.  This 
was  stoutly  opposed  by  the  National  Educational  Association  as 
being  a  confusion  of  classification,  a  violation  of  the  continuity 
of  the  educational  system,  and  an  evasion  of  the  palpable  duty  of 
the  school  authorities,  which  should  press  the  Government  to  estab- 
lish fitting  and  proper  schools  for  such  illiterate  girls. 

The  Government  has  appointed  a  commission  of  prominent  men 
for  the  study  of  reforms  necessary  and  advisable  for  programs  of 


CHILE.  37 

secondary  education  for  girls.  As  matters  stand,  the  same  programs 
of  study  are  set  for  both  boys  and  girls,  a  traditional  arrangement 
the  disadvantages  of  which  are  coming  fully  to  be  recognized. 

Despite  unfavorable  and  antiquated  programs  of  studies,  the  Prov- 
ince of  Nuble  has  made  noteworthy  progress  in  female  secondary 
education.  In  Chilian,  its  capital,  are  conducted  four  liceos,  three 
of  which  are  for  girls.  Ambitious  courses  in  the  classics,  social 
sciences,  and  rudimentary  science  are  offered.  One  of  them,  the  In- 
stituto  Pedagogico,  founded  in  1912,  exercises  far-reaching  influence 
over  the  social,  moral,  and  artistic  conditions  of  the  Province.  The 
American  Liceo,  a  private  institution,  conducted  by  teachers  from 
the  United  States,  devotes  especial  attention  to  the  teaching  of 
English,  colloquial  and  literary,  and  also  gives  instruction  generally 
along  thoroughly  modern  high-school  lines. 

TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS. 

Chile's  system  of  training  teachers  is  distinctively  eclectic,  borrow- 
ing, as  it  has  done,  from  France,  Sweden,  Germany,  and  the  United 
States.  Before  1870  French  influence  predominated,  the  great  Ar- 
gentine educator,  Sarmiento,  himself  a  pupil  of  the  school  of  Saint- 
Simon,  having  founded  the  first  normal  school  in  1842  while  in 
exile  from  the  tyranny  of  the  dictator  Rosas.  German  influence 
became  pronounced  about  1880,  when  that  nation  began  to  supply 
men  and  women  teachers  in  the  normals  and  as  instructors  in  all 
grades  of  education.  Since  25  years  ago  the  tide  began  to  turn 
toward  North  American  influence,  especially  of  the  type  of  edu- 
cation developed  in  the  Northwestern  States.  The  Chilean  ideal 
is  a  judicious  combination  of  (1)  an  institution  for  the  training  of 
teachers  for  public  schools  who  shall  have  adequate  culture,  special- 
ized training,  manual  skill,  and  theoretical  and  practical  knowledge 
of  modern  subjects,  and  (2)  an  institution  for  training  in  social  rela- 
tions and  habits,  exercising  steady  influence  on  the  social  environ- 
ment of  the  school  by  means  of  popular  courses  and  conferences, 
and  participation  in  popular  movements. 

The  full  course  in  the  1C  training  colleges  for  teachers  covers 
five  years,  of  which  the  first  three  are  devoted  to  general  education 
and  the  last  two  to  professional  training.  The  course  for  the  fifth 
year  is  essentially  professional,  consisting  of  pedagogy  (history, 
methodology,  and  practice  teaching),  17  hours  weekly;  Spanish,  1 
hour;  English  or  French  or  German,  4  hours;  civics  and  economics, 
2  hours;  hygiene,  2  hours;  horticulture  or  metallography,  2  hours; 
drawing,  1  hour;  manual  arts, -2  hours;  music,  1  hour;  physical  edu- 
cation, 3  hours.  All  expenses  are  defrayed,  in  return  for  which  the 
pupil  is  pledged  to  teach  for  seven  years  in  the  national  schools. 


38  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

The  actual  method  of  instruction  is  along  German  lines.  Object 
lessons,  those  in  natural  history  and  history  and  geography  have  all 
impressed  recent  foreign  visitors  as  essentially  Herbartian.  Per- 
haps in  no  other  country  of  the  world,  since  the  well-drilled  German 
schools  fell  into  chaos,  is  the  influence  of  the  normal  schools  upon  the 
system  and  method  of  public  instruction  more  powerful  than  in 
Chile.  Indeed,  this  potent  influence  has  overleaped  the  boundaries 
of  Chile  proper  and  affected  every  country  of  Latin  America.  A 
supreme  example  is  the  influence  of  the  Institute  Peclagogico,  the 
best  known  of  Chilean  normal  schools,  founded  in  1909,  with  pre- 
dominatingly German  faculty,  which  has  developed  into  a  type  of 
higher  normal  school  with  a  colegio  annexed,  emphasizing  practice 
teaching  with  subsequent  criticism  and  courses  of  general  pedagogy 
and  methodology  in  every  subject.  Its  certificates  rank  highest  in 
the  secondary  and  normal  education  of  the  capital  city ;  students  are 
attracted  to  it  from  the  other  Latin- American  States,  and  return 
home  to  reorganize  education  there  along  its  lines.  Its  boast  is  that 
it  inspired  the  establishment  of  the  Institute  Nacional  at  Buenos 
Aires. 

Scandinavian  and  Belgian  influences  are  at  work  in  the  Institute 
do  Profesores  Especiales.  Established  in  1906,  it  was  definitely  re- 
organized in  1910  and  installed  in  the  building  especially  constructed 
for  it.  Of  its  300  pupils  200  are  women,  and  the  majority  of  both 
men  and  women  are  active  teachers  in  the  schools  of  the  capital.  It 
offers  courses  common  to  all  the  specialized  sections,  such  as  psy- 
chology, French,  pedagogy,  civics,  and  school  legislation,  and  in- 
cludes five  sections,  fundamental  to  its  organization:  Physical  edu- 
cation, manual  arts,  drawing  and  penmanship,  domestic  economy, 
jind  vocal  music.  For  the  convenience  of  teachers,  instruction  is 
given  from  7  to  9  a.  m.  and  from  4  to  8  p.  m. 

The  last  few  years  have  seen  wide  extension  of  the  demand  for 
rural  normal  schools,  and  many  critics  of  the  existent  schools  have 
urged  that  they  follow  those  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  as  a  model.  The 
ntial  solidarity  of  educational  aims  of  the  South  American  repub- 
lic- is  shown  b}^  the  fact  that  Chile,  Argentina,  and  Bolivia  during 
the  same  period  drew  their  inspiration  from  the  same  North  Amer- 
ican source. 

The  decree  already  mentioned  tinder  the  head  of  primary  educa- 
tion  emphasizes  the  duty  of  the  normal  schools  to  prepare  free  of 
all  expense  primary  teachers  for  any  of  the  three  grades  of  in- 
struction. Each  normal  school  is  also  required  to  have  annexed 
such  specially  organized  practice  schools  as  shall  be  necessary.  At 
the  discretion  of  the  President  of  the  Republic,  the  normal  schools 
shall  offer  special  courses  for  those  students  who  have  passed  the 
examinations  of  ih<>  fifth  year  of  the  colegios,  with  the  aim  of  at- 


CHILE.  39 

trading  such  students  into  the  field  of  teaching.  That  the  need 
of  wider  training  of  the  teachers  is  a  pressing  one  in  Chile  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  in  1915,  of  3,000  rural  teachers,  only  350,  and  of 
(5,240  primary  teachers  of  the  nation  at  large,  only  2,435,  had  normal 
school  training.  The  service  had  to  be  recruited  by  2,000  graduates 
of  primary  schools  who  passed  examinations,  and  by  1,850  appli- 
cants who  held  no  certificate  and  were  allowed  to  serve  as  temporary 
(Substitutes. 

Of  special  interest  is  the  annual  reciprocity  of  teachers  between 
the  Government  of  Chile  and  the  Universities  of  the  States  of  Cali- 
fornia and  Washington,  arranged  in  1918.  Each  party  is  to  send 
four.  For  the  present  the  Chilean  commission  has  expressed  pre- 
dominant interest  in  secondary  education,  and  has  called  for  OIIH 
university  professor,  one  normal-school  teacher,  one  teacher  of 
technical  subjects,  and  one  teacher  (preferably  a  woman)  in  sec- 
ondary education.  The  universities  mentioned  will  act  as  the  agents 
in  the  selection  of  the  instructors. 

Interchange  of  university  professors  has  also  been  arranged  with 
Uruguay,  which  is  for  the  present  confined  to  medical  instruction. 

The  National  Educational  Association  has  at  many  meetings 
pressed  for  the  scientific  and  practical  training  of  the  teachers  of 
Chile  in  vocational  studies;  and  for  the  appropriation  by  the  Con- 
gress  of  a  definite  sum  for  sending  normal  teachers  abroad  for  study 
in  the  modern  practical  and  sociological  subject-. 

TECHNICAL  EDUCATION. 

For  this  branch  of  education  the  National  Educational  Associa- 
tion in  1917  recommended  that  there  be  established  by  law  a  Council 
of  Industrial  Education  composed  of  a  director  and  1*2  members, 
four  of  whom  shall  be  professors  of  the  fundamental  technical 
branches,  one  a  woman  inspector  of  vocational  schools  for  women, 
one  an  inspector  general  of  primary  education,  one  the  dhv 
general  of  railroads,  and  one  a  director  and  inspector  of  army  muni- 
tions. Their  duties  should  be  to  exorcise  superintondcncv  ow  the 
entire  system  of  technical  and  industrial  education  to  be  organized 
in  the  Republic,  over  the  national  school  of  arts  and  trades.  a:ul 
over  such  industrial  schools  for  girls  and  women  as  might  be  es- 
tablished.'  On  this  board  should  be  likewise  all  in>poctois  and 
officials  of  such  branches  as  might  be  later  established.  A  bill  em- 
bodying these  provisions  was  introduced  in  the  Gmgiv^  bin  has 
not  as  yet  been  acted  upon. 

Steady  progress  in  all  branches  of  technical  education  has  been 
shown.  The  schools  of  higher  primary  grade  ottering  technical 


40  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

courses  number  288,  with  physical  training  and  gymnastics  com- 
pulsory in  all  grades.  There  were  also  in  operation  29  technical 
colegios  for  women;  6  agricultural  colegios;  10  commercial  schools, 
controlled  by  the  commission  upon  commercial  education;  and  3 
schools  of  mines. 

The  department  of  industrial  promotion  has  urged  upon  the 
Congress  the  establishment  of  a  chain  of  industrial  and  agricultural 
schools. 

With  the  establishment  by  law  of  the  Industrial  University  of 
Valparaiso  there  will  be  completed  the  full  cycle  of  industrial  edu- 
cation in  Chile,  consisting  of:  (1)  Elementary  industrial  training 
in  two  schools  already  established  and  in  six  more  to  be  established ; 
(2)  secondary  industrial  training  in  the  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts; 
and  (3)  higher  industrial  training  in  the  Technical  School  of 
Valparaiso. 

In  November,  1918,  met  the  first  National  Congress  of  Dairying, 
organized  under  the  auspices  of  the  Agronomic  Society  of  Chile.  It 
urged  the  legal  organization  of  instruction  in  this  branch  in  (1)  spe- 
cial schools  of  dairying  in  northern  and  central  Chile;  (2)  courses 
annexed  to  already  established  schools  of  agriculture;  (3)  in  estab- 
lishments of  secondary  education  for  youths  of  both  sexes  in  popular 
meetings  and  public  traveling  courses;  (4)  in  rural  primary  schools 
for  illiterate  adults. 

It  is  appropriate  to  mention  just  here  the  comprehensive  project 
of  the  board  of  missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
United  States  for  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  and  industrial 
system  of  education  in  southern  Chile.  It  has  been  approved  by 
the  Government  of  Chile  as  a  potent  aid  in  the  uplift  of  the  peon 
class.  A  ranch  of  nearly  4,000  acres  has  been  purchased  along  the 
Malleco  River,  on  which  it  is  purposed  to  train  the  native  popu- 
lation in  the  rudimentary  subjects  of  instruction,  and  especially  in 
modern  agricultural  methods.  The  management  will  employ  the  best 
available  experts  in  horticulture,  agriculture,  and  domestic  arts  to 
be  found  in  the  South  American  countries  who  may  be  acquainted 
with  the  needs  of  Chilean  rural  life. 

THE  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION   OF  CHILE. 

This  body  plays  a  larger  part  in  educational  thought  and  leader- 
ship than  the  corresponding  body  in  any  other  Latin  American 
State.  Its  activities  are  planned  for  close  articulation  of  the  social 
and  educational  needs  of  the  nation.  One  of  the  furthest  reaching 
is  the  public-extension  work  in  subjects  of  university  and  secondary 
instruction.  In  1917,  its  eleventh  year  of  operation,  it  held  14  con- 
ferences at  the  University  of  Chile,  with  an  attendance  of  15,000,  an 


CHILE.  41 

increase  of  50  per  cent  over  the  previous  year.  The  subjects  treated 
were  patriotic,  historical,  literary,  artistic,  sociological,  commercial, 
and  medico-therapeutic. 

In  secondary  extension  during  1917  there  were  held  in  provincial 
capitals  19  conferences  on  subjects  more  popular  and  more  exclu- 
sively educational  and  sociological. 

The  department  of  university  extension  has  also  for  three  years 
devoted  itself  to  collecting  international  data  upon  immigration  and 
naturalization  laws,  and  has  cooperated  with  all  the  labor  organiza- 
tions of  the  Eepublic  to  hinder  the  passage  of  premature  and  unsci- 
entific laws  in  this  field. 

The  activities  of  the  association  cover  a  wide  range.  In  his  report 
for  the  year  1917  the  president  reviewed  the  activities  of  the  body 
and  examined  the  most  important  problems  to  which  it  had  ad- 
dressed itself  during  the  period.  They  were: 

1.  The  establishment  of  a  rural  normal  school,  a  project  not  yet 

realized. 

2.  Democratic  education  by  the  progressive  elimination  of  pri- 

mary courses  of  education  in  secondary  institutions. 

3.  Obligatory  primary  instruction,  sought  by  a  law  passed  by  the 

Chamber  of  Deputies  in  1917,  but  as  yet  not  acted  upon  by 
the  Senate. 

4.  Nationalization  of  the  Chilean  system  of  education,  a  question 

which  needs  to  be  presented  still  more  in  detail  to  the  nation 
and  the  Congress. 

Like  Argentina,  Chile  has  a  grave  problem  in  the  assimilation  of 
alien  elements,  and  her  nationalism  is  alarmed  at  the  activity  of  the 
school  organizations  of  diverse  races  existent  on  her  soil.  French 
students  of  education  are  intensely  interested  in  this  development 
as  a  vindication  of  their  prophecies,  for  they  have  long  been  point- 
ing out  the  Germanization  of  Chilean  education. 

The  association  has  vigorously  urged  legislation  requiring  the 
close  and  systematic  inspection  of  all  nongovernmental  schools,  es- 
pecially those  of  secondary  grade  in  north  Chile,  where  German 
propaganda  has  for  years  been  an  open  secret,  carried  on,  as  was 
•well  known,  by  a  German-Chilean  Union  of  Teachers,  and  where 
German  liceos  exist  in  full  operation.  The  association  urged  the 
requirement  in  secondary  schools  of  essentially  national  subjects, 
such  as  Spanish  and  the  history,  geography,  and  civics  of  Chile, 
tauglit  by  Chileans  and  descendants  of  Chileans. 

In  the  field  of  physical  education,  the  activities  of  the  association 
have  been  specially  directed  to  securing  proper  playgrounds  for 
schools  and  to  arousing  practical  interest  in  this  field  among  philan- 
thropists and  the  public  at  large.  The  association  has  taken  strong 
ground  for  antialcoholic  instruction  in  primary  and  secondary 


42  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

schools,  urging  that  such  be  incorporated  in  the  textbooks  in  the 
study  of  physiology,  hygiene,  and  temperance,  and  in  independent 
courses  in  public  schools  and  State  colegios.  The  project  encoun- 
tered opposition  in  the  National  Congress.  The  association  has  also 
grappled  with  the  problem  of  immorality,  issuing  in  May,  1917, 
appeals  to  families  on  sexual  ethics  and  the  systematic  inculcation 
of  ethical  ideas  of  sex  by  educational  and  therapeutic  measures. 
During  1917,'  fraternal  relations  were  established  with  Brazil  and 
Bolivia,  on  the  occasion  of  the  inauguration  of  the  Higher  Normal 
Institute. 


EDUCATION  IN  URUGUAY, 

GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

The  marked  educational  awakening  of  Uruguay  during  the  last 
biennium  has  been  only  one  phase  of  the  universal  demand  of  the 
nation  for  a  new  social  and  economic  adjustment.  Perhaps  the  chief 
manifestation  of  this  has  been  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution 
in  place  of  the  old,  which  had  been  in  force  exactly  90  years.  At  a 
plebiscite  of  November,  1917,  the  constitution  as  formulated  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  and  adopted  by  a  vote  of  85,000  to  4,000 ;  and 
it  became  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land  on  March  1,  1919.  As 
regards  its  bearings  upon  educational  administration,  the  most  note- 
worthy change — and  perhaps  that  around  which  centered  most  op- 
position during  its  consideration — was  the  provision  which  divides 
the  executive  power  between  a  President  and  a  National  Council  of 
Administration. 

The  latter  body,  composed  of  nine  members  elected  for  six  years 
directly  by  the  people,  and  absolutely  independent  of  the  President, 
has  charge  of  all  matters  relating  to  public  instruction,  public  works, 
labor,  industries,  public  charities,  health,  and  the  preparation  of  the 
annual  national  budget.  The  administrative  officers  of  public  in- 
struction of  all  grades,  including  the  minister,  are  appointed  by  the 
National  Council  and  are  subject  to  its  authority  according  to  such 
particular  laws  and  regulations  as  the  Congress  may  enact.  This  sub- 
stitution of  a  composite  board  for  an  individual  as  the  fountainhead 
of  educational  authority  is  an  experiment  whose  operations  will  be 
observed  with  much  interest  in  a  country  of  South  America  habitu- 
ated by  tradition  to  authority  concentrated  in  an  individual. 

ILLITERACY. 

of  adults  and  the  night  schools. — The  problem  of  com- 
bating illiteracy,  as  in  all  the  more  progressive  South  American 
countries  during  the  last  biennium,  has  received  more  systematic  con- 


URUGUAY.  43 

sideration  than  during  any  previous  period.1  As  will  be  seen  later 
in  the  consideration  of  the  rural  schools,  measures  have  been  taken 
which  are  of  unusual  importance  for  the  instruction  of  youthful  illit- 
erates. In  the  related  field  of  instruction  of  adults  who  are  illiterates 
or  nearly  so,  work  of  a  creative  nature  has  been  done  in  Uruguay. 
The  mere  statistics  show  progress,  the  courses  offered  for  adults  in  the 
year  1916-17  being  55  in  excess  of  the  former  year  and  the  enrollment 
5,284,  an  increase  of  1,671  over  that  year;  but  the  new  spirit  ani- 
mating this  branch  is  the  notable  feature.  The  authorities  have  kept 
it  steadily  in  mind  to  carry  adult  education  out  from  the  capital  city 
to  the  rural  districts;  and  the  national  authorities  of  primary  edu- 
cation have  cooperated  efficiently  in  lending  schoolhouses  as  places 
for  adult  instruction  and  encouraging  primary  teachers  to  assist 
in  this  work.  The  Government  has  furthered  the  study  of  the  prob- 
lem in  the  researches  of  Senor  Hipolito  Coirolo,  director  of  the 
largest  night  school  for  adults  in  Montevideo.  Senor  Coirolo  spent 
nearly  two  years  in  collecting  systematic  data  from  Argentina,  Bra- 
zil, Colombia,  and  Paraguay,  which  were  naturally  confronted  by  the 
same  problems  in  adult  illiteracy.  In  March.  1917,  he  presented  to 
the  authorities  the  results  of  his  findings  in  a  project  for  the  organic 
reform  of  instruction  for  adults  in  the  night  schools.  Senor  Coirolo 
maintained  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  progress  in  this  field  to  keep 
pace  with  the  other  educational  demands,  more  especially  as  it 
was  admitted  that  the  prevailing  system  was  a  more  or  less  poorly; 
made  combination  of  regulations  and  practices  covering  many  locali- 
ties and  periods,  and  had  been  only  tentatively  adopted  by  presi- 
dential decree  in  1903,  and  given  legal  existence  in  1907,  when  35 
night  schools  were  organized.  All  familiar  with  conditions  knew 
that  they  were  now  completely  out  of  touch  with  modern  social  and 
educational  demands. 

Senor  Coirolo  found  the  curriculum  of  night  schools  too  largely 
theoretical  and  bookish  and  in  only  a  few  instances  offering  practi- 
cal instruction.  After  careful  study  of  the  subjects  offered  in  the 
night  schools  of  progressive  countries,  he  urged  that  the  night  schools 
of  the  future  be  organized  upon  the  following  main  lines: 

1.  The  completion  of  17  years  of  age  requisite  for  admission. 

2.  The  division  into  three  classes,  each  occupying  a  year  according 
to  the  degree  of  illiteracy,  and  the  division  of  each  class  into  three 
cycles  of  three  months  each,  the  cycle  to  be  the  unit  of  time,  without 
limitation  upon  the  transfer  of  pupils  from  one  cycle  to  another. 

3.  The  subjects  to  be  introduced  in  logical  sequence  and  to  be 
taught  in  accordance  with  the  development  of  the  pupil  and  to  COn- 
^ee  executive  message  of  May,  1917,  accompanying  project  of  law  for  appropriation 

of  $50,000  for  appointment  of  100  assistant  primary  teachers  for  tbe  Departments  of  the 
Republic. 


44  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

sist  of  reading,  language  work,  writing,  arithmetic,  elements  of  ap- 
plied geometry,  singing,  drawing,  moral  instruction,  elements  of 
anatomy,  physiology,  hygiene,  civic  instruction,  geography,  and  his- 
tory (national  and  universal) ;  talks  and  lessons  on  objects  of  daily 
life,  manual  arts,  domestic  economy,  and  household  arts;  elements  of 
political  economy,  sociology,  psychology,  duties  of  parents,  account- 
ing, and  industrial  training.  Individual  conferences  with  teachers, 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  are  to  be  continued  through  all  three 
years;  and  each  year  is  to  close  with  a  review  and  finishing  course, 
devoting  attention  to  individual  needs. 

4.  Under  the  head  of  general  administration  the  proponent  urged 
the  elimination  of  religious  instruction  in  night  schools,  less  atten- 
tion to  examinations  for  promotion,  the  prohibition  of  holding  night 
schools  in  buildings  occupied  by  children  during  the  day,  and  careful 
inspection  of  night  schools  by  appointed  authorities. 

Certain  of  these  provisions  were  embodied  in  a  ministerial  decree 
of  October,  1917,  which  stressed  the  importance  of  this  branch  of 
education  in  the  national  life,  and  appropriated  $10,000  for  the  in- 
crease of  the  staff  of  teachers  in  commercial  subjects  and  domestic 
arts. 

PRIMARY  EDUCATION,  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE. 

In  1917  slightly  less  than  100,000  pupils  were  enrolled  in  the  1,014 
public  primary  schools  of  Uruguay,  an  increase  of  2,500  over  the 
preceding  year.  Of  these,  nearly  65,000  were  enrolled  in  the  city  of 
Montevideo  alone. 

In  administration  and  inspection  the  authorities  in  this  field  were 
active  and  progressive.  Tentative  reforms  in  the  programs  of  study 
for  the  schools  of  towns  and  villages,  a  step  long  urged  by  them,  were 
outlined  by  the  minister  of  education ;  and  wider  latitude  was  allowed 
such  individual  schools  in  the  matter  of  adapting  nature  study  and 
practical  courses  to  regular  school  work  in  accordance  with  local 
conditions  and  occupations.  This  step  was  in  keeping  with  the  at- 
tention paid  to  rural  schools,  which  will  be  discussed  later. 

By  executive  resolution  of  July,  1917,  the  long-discussed  change  in 
the  school  year  was  made  by  which  it  shall  hereafter  open  March  1 
and  close  December  15.  As  with  the  similar  change  in  Argentina, 
beneficial  results,  especially  in  the  rural  schools,  are  expected,  as  this 
arrangement  is  in  conformity  with  climatic  conditions.  The  change 
was  made  after  investigation  among  the  teaching  forge,  and  the  coun- 
try teachers  won  a  victory  over  their  city  fellows,  who  favored  vaca- 
tions in  the  summer.  This  is  but  another  and  a  significant  effect  of 
the  steady  centripetal  attraction  of  the  overshadowing  capital  city, 
more  n;;u'Kvd  even  in  the  new  countries  of  South  America  than  in  the 


URUGUAY.  45 

old  ones  of  Europe.  The  country  teachers  have  openly  expressed 
their  wish  to  spend  the  longest  posisble  time  in  the  capital,  in  spite 
of  the  inconveniences  of  such  a  sojourn  in  the  summer.  A  further 
light  upon  the  country  teacher's  point  of  view  is  shown  by  the  in- 
formation that  the  long  vacations  in  winter  permit  the  small  land- 
owner to  employ  his  children  in  labors  of  battage,  which  begin  in 
December  and  last  most  of  the  winter.  The  schools  are  therefore 
practically  empty  in  winter.  It  is  manifestly  wiser  to  put  the  former 
long  vacation  of  July  at  this  time. 

Complaints  having  become  more  frequent  in  regard  to  the  blocking 
ol  educational  administration  in  certain  departments  because  of  dis- 
agreements among  inspectors,  more  drastic  requirements  were  laid 
down  by  resolutions  of  the  National  Inspection  of  Primary  In- 
struction, dated  February,  1917.  The  authority  of  the  departmental 
inspector  over  the  subinspectors  was  confirmed;  in  the  event  of 
disagreement  or  insubordination  the  departmental  inspector  was 
required  to  present  the  case  to  the  Department  of  National  Inspec- 
tion; the  visitation  of  schools  was  distributed  as  nearly  equally  as 
possible;  and  the  responsibility  for  inaction  was  put  squarely  upon 
the  inspectors. 

These  provisions,  rigorous  as  they  were,  did  not  prove  adequate, 
and  much  of  the  business  of  the  schools  of  the  outlying  departments 
still  remained  blocked.  The  executive,  therefore,  in  November,  1917, 
transmitted  to  the  Congress,  along  with  a  message  emphasizing  the 
necessity  of  the  law,  a  project  for  the  establishment  of  three  divi- 
sions of  regional  inspectors  of  primary  education  to  exercise  general 
supervision  over  the  departmental  inspectors  and  the  schools  of  the 
Republic.  These  regional  inspectors  acting  as  a  unit  were  to  con- 
stitute the  technical  inspection  of  the  school  authorities.  Their  func- 
tions were  to  be  regulated  by  the  executive  in  accordance  with  the 
reports  of  the  national  inspection  and  the  general  direction  of  pri- 
mary instruction.  The  hitherto  existing  chief  inspectors,  technical, 
adjunct,  and  chief  of  statistics  were  to  be  transformed  into  regional 
inspectors,  and  under  their  immediate  supervision  were  to  be  put  all 
the  departmental  inspectors.  The  projected  law  encountered  un- 
expected opposition,  and  its  passage  has  not  as  yet  been  secured. 

Scientific  interest  in  the  character  of  the  textbooks  adopted  for  use 
in  the  primary  schools  of  Uruguay  has  been  aroused  by  the  Govern- 
ment's offer  of  prizes  for  satisfactory  textbooks  and  by  the  publica- 
tion in  the  Anales  de  Instruccion  Primaria  of  illustrative  lines  and 
themes  of  treatment.  The  general  assembly  has  authorized  the  offer 
of  $0,000  in  prizes  in  the  contest  for  the  composition  of  a  book  com- 
bining in  a  single  volume  all  the  textbook  material  needed  in  the 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  classes  in  the  public  schools  of  Montevideo. 
This  offer  had  as  its  object  to  lower  the  cost  of  education  and  thus  to 


46  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF   EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

• 

facilitate  attendance,  as  the  book  in  question  was  to  be  distributed 
gratuitously  in  cases  of  need. 

A  circular  issued  by  the  department  of  technical  inspection  in 
April,  1017,  called  the  attention  of  teachers  to  the  abuses  of  assigning 
written  home  work  and  limited  such  tasks  to  30  minutes  in  classes  of 
the  first  grade  and  to  one  hour  for  those  in  higher  grades. 

By  executive  decree,  school  savings  funds  and  a  system  of  aid  for 
necessitous  children,  supplying  clothing,  midday  meal,  transporta- 
tion, and  books,  were  established  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  admin- 
istrative council  for  each  department,  composed  of  the  departmental 
authorities  of  primary  education,  and  the  civil  authorities  of  the 
several  localties,  presided  over  by  the  departmental  inspectors.  The 
funds  for  the  institution  of  this  system  were  to  be  drawn  from  State 
subventions  to  municipalities,  school  fees,  and  legacies  and  gifts  to 
such  objects.  Although  the  Congress  in  October,  1917,  appropriated 
$30,000  to  organize  the  system, 'financial  considerations  have  as  yet 
prevented  its  practical  organization. 

Private  instruction. — For  the  first  time  in  the*  history  of  Uruguay 
systematic  steps  have  been  taken  to  ascertain  the  real  nature  and 
aims  of  private  instruction.  By  executive  decree  of  May,  1917,  the 
inspector  of  private  instruction  and  the  assistant  director  general 
of  primary  public  instruction  were  directed  to  address  to  every 
private  educational  institution  in  Uruguay  a  questionnaire  in  dupli- 
cate calling  for  information  concerning  its  teaching  staff,  the  mental 
and  physical  condition  of  its  pupils,  the  hygienic  conditions  of  the 
building  and  site,  classrooms,  dormitories,  playgrounds,  source  and 
nature  of  drinking  water,  lighting  conditions,  school  furniture  and 
equipment,  programs  of  study,  methods,  textbooks,  school  hours, 
and  the  general  organization  and  administration  of  the  school.  No 
time  limit  was  set  for  the  reply,  but  it  was  requested  within  a 
reasonable  time.  The  gist  of  the  information  gathered  and  the 
action  of  the  Government  have  not  as  yet  been  published.  Such  a; 
move  has  naturally  aroused  opposition  in  conservative  and  ecclesias- 
tical circles,  and  its  results  are  awaited  with  keen  interest  by  other 
South  American  countries  which  have  to  deal  with  similar  problems. 

The  issues  aroused  by  the  consideration  of  the  private  schools 
continued  to  grow  more  acute,  and  culminated  in  the  introduction 
of  a  bill  in  the  Congress  in  March,  1918,  forbidding  the  opening 
of  private  schools  of  any  grade  without  the  written  permission  of 
the  inspectoral  department  of  private  instruction  or  the.  depart- 
mental inspectors  of  primary  instruction ;  and  requiring  all  teachers 
in  private  schools  to  hold  a  State  teacher's  diploma  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  law  of  public  instruction,  and  debarring 
the  clergy  from  teaching  in  any  such  private  schools.  The  bill 
naturally  became  a  storm  center  and  is  us  yet  unenacted  into  law. 


URUGUAY.  47 

S<  -ISOOL8. 


Until  the  breaking  out  of  the  World  War.  anil  tho  consequent 
upsetting-  of  traditions  in  all  South  A  .11  countrie-  \vho.-e  nutlet 

is  011  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  educational  thought  in  Uruguay  concerned 
itself  largely  with  the  capital  city.     In  tlii  t,  as  in  that  of 

population    (one  out  of  three  people  in  Uruguay   live-    in    M 
video),  the  -centralizing  tendency  of  South   Am<>ri 
well  illustrated      But  a  vital  change  began  to  show   itself  from 
1914  to  1916,  and  in  the  latter  year  it  acquired  extraordinary  im- 
petus from  the  support  of  national  leaders  and  of  the  pres.s.    The 
nation  has  grown  steadily  to  recognize  the  proper  balance  to  be 
observed  between  the  claims  of  the  schools  of  the  capital  and  those 
of  the  rural  districts.     It  has  come  to  see  that  a  healthy  national 
life  was  possible  only  with  organic  changes  in  the  schools  of  the 
outlying  departments,  and  that  these  of  Montevideo  could  without 
danger  be  left  at  their  present  status  until  the  education  of  Un- 
people from  whom  the  great  city  was  steadily  ivcruih-d     h-  n'-l  l>e 
attended  to.     It  is  in  the  light  of  this  radical  change  in  tin- 
attitude  that  the  educational  history  of  Uruguay  for  the  last  bien- 
nium  should  be  read. 

This  epoch  in  educational  progress  has  been  further  marked  by 
the  recognition  of  the  need  of  financial  support  for  rural  edu-a: 
and  the  further  need  of  differentiating  the  subjects  of  instruction 
proper  for  rural  children  from  those  adapted  to  the  city.    In  <re; 
this  principle  clearly  before  the  public  mind,  the  educational  au- 
thorities of  Uruguay  have  played  a  part  exc.'li.-d  in   faff  countries 
for  skill  and  devotion  to  the  national  interests.    Mention  should  be 
made  of  the  able  contributions  of  Senor  A.  J.   Perez,  Nati 
Inspector  of  Primary  Education,  especially  of  his  study  cnt 
"  De  la  cultura  necessaria  en  la  democr  i'.»l$).  which 

applies  to  modern  conditions  De  Toccjneville's  main  lines  of  thought. 

A  commission  of  nine  experienced  teachers,  six  men  nnd  ti 
women,  with  Senor  Perez  as  chairman,  was  appointed  by  executive 
decree  to  formulate  the  program  of  study  for  the  projected 
schools.    It  began  its  sessions  in  February,  1917,  and  met  fr 
for  two  months.     Its  report  was  presented  in  May,  1917.     Api- 
by  the  executive  in  June,  by  decree  it  went  into  effect  on  March  1. 
1918.    The  main  contentions  of  the  commission  in  support  of  it-^  plan 
are  well  worthy  of  notice  : 

1.  Far-reaching  changes  within  a  generation  in  the  commercial  and 
industrial  life  of  the  nation  have  affected  the  rural  d  md  have 

called  for  different  subjects  and  methods  of  instruction  for  the  chil- 
dren of  these  districts.     The  rural  school  of  the  future  must  be 


48  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

recognized  as  fundamentally  an  elementary  industrial  school  ad- 
justed to  local  conditions. 

2.  The  successful  rural  school  must  have  the  following  aims:  To 
inculcate  conscientious  and  efficient  labor;  to  minister  to  a  well- 
regulated  and  happy  home  life ;  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  private 
and  public  hygiene,  and  to  further  the  increase  of  population  and 
public  wealth  and,  in  general,  the  possession  of  a  well-founded  and 
enduring  popular  liberty. 

3.  The  intimate  relation  of  the  rural  schools  with  the  problems  of 
home  life  requires  the  new  rural  school  to  be  taught  by  women,  and 
therefore  the  training  of  young  women  as  teachers  in  such  schools 
should  be  at  once  initiated  and  continued  as  the  basis  of  their  success. 
Concrete  illustration  is  found  in  the  successful  intensive  training  of 
24  young  women  in  a  course  of  six  weeks  at  the  normal  institute  at 
Montevideo  in  the  summer  of  1917. 

4.  In  the  administrative  organization  the  committee  was  guided 
by  the  following  general  principles:  (a)  Not  to  install  rural  schools 
by  foundation  or  transfer  except  in  localities  where  donations  of 
ground  of  not  less  than  4  hectares  (10  acres)  should  be  immediately 
available;  (&)  to  urge  similar  donations,  public  or  private,  to  existing 
rural  schools  which  lacked  grounds  of  the  minimum  area  above  indi- 
cated; (c)  to  propose  and  encourage  the  transfer  of  rural  schools 
that  had  no  grounds  annexed  nor  could  obtain  such  by  donation  to 
another  parish  where  such  advantages  could  be  obtained  without 
prejudice  to  the  interests  of  the  rural  schools  in  the  district. 

5.  No  child  below  7  years  of  age  should  be  admitted  to  the  rural 
schools. 

6.  The  programs  of  study  for  the  rural  schools  occupied  the  greater 
part  of  the  commission's  time.     The  subjects  of  instruction  as  re- 
ported covered  three  years,  and  were  reading,  language  work,  writ- 
ing, arithmetic,  drawing,  agriculture,  domestic  economy,  elements  of 
applied  geometry,  geography  and  history  (local,  national,  and  uni- 
versal), singing,  and  gymnastics.     In  the  view  of  the  commission 
itself,  the  feature  which  peculiarly   differentiates  these  new   pro- 
grams is  the  complete  application  of  practical  methods  and  aims  to 
each  of  these  subjects,  the  elimination  of  abstract  and  memory  teach- 
ing, and,  above  all,  the  development  of  the  subjects  of  drawing, 
agriculture,  and  domestic  economy.     The  fundamental  aim  through- 
out was  to  correlate  instruction  with  the  conditions  and  occupations 
of  life  in  the  several  communities  and  to  lead  the  pupil  to  see  each 
subject  as  related  to  practical  utility. 

Following  the  promulgation  of  the  report  of  the  commission,  lively 
interest  was  manifested  by  the  nation  at  large  in  the  initiation  of 
such  rural  schools.  Practical  difficulties,  however,  were  foreseen  in 
securing  funds  for  their  launching  upon  the  nation-wide  scale  hoped 


URUGUAY.  49 

for,  and  restlessness  in  certain  quarters  was  manifested,  though  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  promptly  voted  the  funds  necessary.  The 
National  Rural  Congress  of  Uruguay,  in  session  in  August,  1917, 
addressed  to  the  minister  of  public  instruction  an  urgent  plea  for 
carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  report  in  time  for  the  opening  of  at 
least  a  part  of  such  schools  with  the  new  school  year. 

MEDICAL  INSPECTION   OF   SCHOOLS. 

The  medical  inspection  of  schools  has  been  favorably  regarded  in 
Uruguay  for  a  number  of  years.  It  was  initiated  by  law  in  1913  with 
the  examination  of  the  pupils  of  the  normal  schools  in  Montevideo 
and  the  division  of  urban  and  rural  schools  into  five  groups.  Since 
then  popular  approval  of  its  application  to  the  schools  of  the  nation 
has  steadily  grown. 

Under  the  present  law  individual  inspection  of  the  physical  con- 
dition of  pupils  concerns  itself  only  with  those  who  enter  for  the 
first  time.  Naturally  the  law  is  applied  with  varying  degrees  of 
rigor,  the  schools  of  the  capital  being  visited  regularly  by  the  medi- 
cal inspectors,  while  those  of  the  outlying  departments  are  dependent 
upon  the  energy  and  faithfulness  of  the  individual  inspector.  The 
law  assigns  to  each  a  certain  number  of  schools  to  visit.  Capable 
medical  inspectors  have  served  their  nation  well  in  pointing  out  the 
grave  disadvantages  from  the  use  of  primary  schools  for  night 
schools  for  adults,  especially  the  danger  of  tuberculosis. 

Medical  inspectors  are  also  required  by  law  to  include  in  their  tri- 
monthly  reports  recommendations  for  repairs,  alterations,  etc.,  of 
school  buildings  and  grounds  called  for  by  sanitary  or  hy genie  con- 
siderations. 

Dental  inspection  has  also  been  systematically  carried  on  in  most 
of  the  schools  of  the  capital,  the  reports  of  oral  and  dental  affections 
observed  in  the  children  reaching  76  per  cent  of  the  total  ailments 
noted.  Ocular  inspection  in  the  schools  of  Montevido  has  also  been 
made  a  separate  field  within  the  last  biennium. 

By  an  amendment  of  1916  to  the  existing  law  an  annual  physi.nl 
examination  of  teachers  in  the  schools  of  Montevideo  will  be  required. 
This  was  naturally,  and  in  certain  instances  bitterly,  opposed;  but 
the  opposition  has  largely  died  down,  and  the  teachers  themselves 
have  come  to  realize  the  benefits  involved. 

PHYSICAL  TRAINING. 

In  accordance  with  the  wish  of  educational  officials  to  diffuse  among 
the  schools  of  Uruguay  the  benefits  of  international  progress  in  the 
physical  betterment  of  school  children,  a  commission  was  named  by 
the  executive  in  April,  1916,  to  draw  up  a  plan  of  physical  education 


50  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

in  schools.  This  commission,  acting  in  cooperation  with  the  general 
direction  of  primary  instruction,  recommended  to  the  executive  the 
appointment  of  a  permanent  technical  commission  of  physical  train- 
ing for  schools,  and  this  recommendation  was  approved  by  executive 
decree  of  March  8,  1918.  The  commission  so  appointed  was  to  con- 
sist of  a  member  of  the  general  direction  of  primary  instruction, 
one  of  the  national  commission  of  physical  education,  a  physician 
of  the  medical  school  staff,  a  physician  to  be  named  by  the  National 
Council  of  Hygiene,  the  technical  inspector  of  primary  education, 
the  technical  director  of  the  National  Commission  of  Physical  Edu- 
cation, the  teachers  of  gymnastics  of  the  normal  institutes  and  of 
the  primary  schools  of  the  capital,  and  two  physicians  who  were 
specialists  in  diseases  of  children. 

The  province  of  the  commission  was  to  draw  up  for  the  general 
direction  of  primary  instruction  programs  of  physical  exercises  for 
schools ;  to  outline  methods  of  instruction ;  to  see  that  these  programs 
and  methods  were  practically  carried  out  in  the  public  schools,  to 
inform  the  school  authorities  upon  points  of  deficiency  in  instruction 
and  to  indicate  measures  of  correcting  these ;  to  organize  gymnastic 
meetings  and  exhibitions  for  schools,  and  in  general  to  promote  the 
diffusion  of  physical  education  in  the  schools. 

In  furtherance  of  the  awakened  national  interest  in  physical  edu- 
cation, the  executive  has  appointed  departmental  commissions  in 
various  departments  for  the  immediate  provision  of  adequate  play- 
grounds and  the  acquisition  of  apparatus  for  games  to  be  installed 
in  town  and  village  plazas.  These  have  cooperated  with  the  National 
Commission  for  Physical  Education,  the  latter  having  decreed  the 
establishment,  upon  application  of  residents,  of  neighborhood  and 
community  playing  centers.  All, games,  especially  those  of  North 
America,  which  are  adapted  to  the  climate  and  environment  have 
been  systematically  encouraged.  In  localities  where  it  was  required 
by  law  the  executive  has  authorized  the  municipal  authorities,  with 
the  consent  of  the  national  commission,  to  negotiate  such  loans  as 
were  necessary  for  the  financial  carrying  out  of  this  nation-wide 
scheme.  These  are  steps  of  very  great  significance  in  a  country  of 
South  America  not  by  tradition  or  racial  inheritance  addicted  to 
outdoor  sports. 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION. 

By  executive  message  of  February  14,  1918,  the  work  of  certain 
of  the  departmental  liceos  in  discovering  boys  of  talent  in  the  higher 
elementary  schools  who  were  without  means  of  continuing  their 
education,  and  giving  them  opportunities  to  pursue  their  studies  by 
means  of  11  system  of  scholarships,  was  highly  commended,  especially 


URUGUAY.  51 

as  a  beginning  of  bridging  the  chasm  between  elementary  and 
secondary  education. 

In  response  to  popular  demand,  courses  in  Italian  and  Portuguese 
were  incorporated  by  decree  of  the  secondary  education  division  of 
public  instruction  in  1917.  With  the  object  of  making  known  to 
teachers  in  secondary  education  the  international  progress  in  this 
field,  a  journal  entitled  "Revista  de  Enseiianza  Secundaria"  was 
established  by  executive  decree  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary 
of  this  division.  All  reports  and  public  business  concerning  this 
division  are  to  be  published  in  this  journal. 

By  executive  decree  of  November,  1917,  all  courses  for  the  train- 
ing of  primary-school  teachers  maintained  since  April,  1916,  in  the 
liceos  of  the  outlying  departments  were  discontinued.  They  had 
been  originally  instituted  by  way  of  experiment  for  supplying 
teachers  for  the  rural  schools,  and  were  not  regarded  as  serving  this 
purpose.  Furthermore,  in  view  of  the  agitation  for  improved  rural 
schools,  it  was  regarded  as  useless  to  continue  a  system  of  training 
which  had  proved,  because  of  its  environment,  impracticable  to 
harmonize  with  modern  schools, 

COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION. 

The  past  biennium  has  seen  a  considerable  development  of  interest 
in  commercial  education.  By  executive  recommendation  and  by  law 
of  January,  1916,  there  were  introduced  in  the  liceos  and  national 
schools  of  commerce  in  the  capital  and  three  of  the  larger  cities 
courses  of  varying  length  for  the  training  of  boys  for  the  consular, 
diplomatic,  and  foreign  agency  services.  By  ministerial  decree  of 
April,  1917,  there  were  incorporated  in  the  national  schools  of  com- 
merce courses  in  civil  and  commercial  law,  American  history,  and 
advanced  courses  in  accounting  and  bookkeeping;  and  legal  per- 
mission was  given  the  individual  school  to  extend  the  latter  courses 
into  the  fifth  year  wherever  deemed  suitable.  In  common  with 
students  finishing  the  courses  in  the  liceos,  those  from  national  school 
of  commerce  were  granted  opportunity  to  compete  for  scholarships 
.abroad  offered  by  decree  of  January,  1918.  These  scholarships  arc 
good  for  one  or  more  years  according  to  the  success  of  the  holder, 
and  are  apportioned  among  the  departments  according  to  the  <li  — 
cretion  of  the  council  of  secondary  and  preparatory  education. 
Among  the  usual  scholastic  requirements  called  for  are  periodical 
reports  from  the  holder  of  such  a  scholarship  concerning  the  social 
and  economic  conditions  of  the  people  among  whom  he  has  been  sent 
to  study. 

Following  the  plan  drawn  up  at  Montevideo  in  the  summer  of 
1918  by  governmental  and  educational  representative^  from  most  of 


52  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

the  South  American  countries,  invitations  were  sent  to  all  interested 
in  commercial  education  to  attend  the  South  American  Congress 
of  Commercial  Education  to  be  held  in  that  city  in  January-Febru- 
ary, 1919.  The  best  talent  in  this  division  of  education  was  assigned 
the  discussion  of  topics  which  were  considered  as  most  urgent  at  the 
present  time.  They  were  treated  under  two  main  heads,  those  of 
(a)  economic  commercial  expansion  and  (Z>)  commercial  instruc- 
tion. The  former  head,  not  being  essentially  educational,  calls  for 
no  notice  here.  The  latter  included  the  following  topics : 

1.  From  what  points,  how,  and  by  what  means  commercial  educa- 
tion should  be  developed  on  the  American  continent ;  extent  and  sub- 
division of  such  instruction. 

2.  Means  of  stimulating  acquaintance  among  the  peoples  of  the 
Americas. 

3.  The  centers  of  commercial  education  as  professional  schools, 
and  as  institutions  of  modern  culture. 

4.  Should  courses  in  business  ethics  be  included  in  the  curriculum 
of  the  advanced  classes?     Morale,  character,  and  culture  of  students 
of  commerce  and  of  consular  service. 

5.  Universal  history  of  commerce  as  an  indispensable  element  in 
the  training  of  competent  consuls. 

6.  Are  screen  films  necessary  in  giving  instruction  in  commerce 
and  geography? 

7.  Countinghouse  practice. 

8.  How  should  commerce  be  taught? 

9.  Teaching  of  languages  in  the  centers  of  commercial  education. 

10.  Preparation  of  women  for  a  commercial  career. 

Among  the  resolutions  officially  adopted  by  the  congress  which 
had  educational  bearing  were  those  recommending  that — 

(a)  Institutes  or  sections  of  economic  expansion  in  faculties  of 
economic  science,  schools,  and  higher  centers  of  economic  and  com- 
mercial study  be  established  which  should  devote  themselves  espe- 
cially to  the  study  and  practical  solution  of  the  various  economic 
questions  affecting  inter- American  relations  and  solidarity. 

(b)  For  social  and  economic  ends  American  countries  create  and 
aid  industrial  schools  for  fisheries  and  derived  industries. 

(c)  Propaganda  primers  be  prepared  for  exchange  among  the 
public  schools  of  the  (South)  American  Continent. 

(d)  There  be  included  in  programs  of  higher  commercial  study 
courses  of  comparative  American  economy  and  comparative  cus- 
toms legislation  (the  latter  for  consular  courses),  and  that  existing 
seminaries  of  economic  investigation  or  higher  commerce  schools 
write    the    economic    and    financial    history    of    their    respective 
countries. 


URUGUAY.  53 

(e)  The  interchange  of  professors  and  students  between  the 
higher  institutions  of  commercial  learning  be  initiated. 

(/)  International  agreements  be  concluded  for  the  reciprocal 
recognition  of  degrees  issued  by  institutions  of  commercial  learning 
and  that  scholarships  be  granted  for  the  interchange  of  students. 

(g)  The  compilation  of  legislation  of  American  countries  con- 
cerning commercial  education  be  intrusted  to  the  permanent  com- 
mission created  by  the  congress.  The  commission  will  be  assisted 
in  this  work  by  a  committee  of  professors  and  experts  in  commer- 
cial education  and  will  be  charged  with  proposing  plans  and  cur- 
ricula in  accordance  with  the  following:  Commercial  instruction, 
which  presupposes  primary  education,  to  be  divided  into  three  cate- 
gories—  (a)  Elementary  instruction,  which  may  be  dependent  or 
independent;  (b)  secondary  instruction;  (c)  higher  instruction. 
The  purpose  of  these  branches  is:  (a)  To  train  auxiliaries  of  com- 
merce; (b)  to  prepare  for  commerce  in  general;  (c)  to  furnish 
economic,  financial,  and  commercial  knowledge  preparing  for  di- 
rective functions  in  commerce  and  industry,  insurance  and  consular 
work,  etc. 

(h)  Preliminary  cultural  studies  of  two  grades  be  established, 
one  confined  to  the  first  and  second  categories  of  commercial  instruc- 
tion, and  the  second  for  broader  instruction  in  the  third  category. 

(/)  The  study  of  the  proposal  of  the  National  Institute  of  Com- 
merce of  La  Paz,  Bolivia,  concerning  education  of  women  be 
referred  to  the  permanent  commission. 

(k)  Higher  institutions  of  commercial  education  establish,  if  not 
already  existing,  in  their  curricula  the  separation  of  commercial 
from  economic  geography,  the  study  of  commercial  geography  to 
begin  in  primary  schools,  with  periodical  competitions  for  the 
preparation  of  the  best  commercial  and  economic  geographies  of 
each  country  and  the  exchange  of  prize  works  be  arranged  for. 

(I)  Institutions  of  bibliography  and  information  be  established, 
independent  of  or  annexed  to  seminaries  or  institutes,  for  investiga- 
tion existing  or  to  be  founded  in  America,  and  providing  for  the 
widest  exchange  of  economic,  financial,  and  commercial  informa- 
tion collected. 

(m)  The  practice  of  the  professions  receiving  diplomas  from 
higher  institutions  of  commercial  learning  in  commercial,  civil,  and 
administrative  matters  be  legally  recognized. 

(n)  An  extraordinary  prize  to  be  known  as  the  Pablo  Fontaina 
Prize  for  Commercial  Studies  be  offered  for  students  of  higher 
institutions  of  commercial  learning.  (Sr.  Pablo  Fontaina*is  director 
of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Montevideo  and  played  a 
prominent  part  in  the  organization  and  work  of  the  congress.) 


54  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF  EDUCATION,  1916-1918. 

(o)  Entrance  into  consular  and  diplomatic  services  be  granted  by 
competitive  examination  or  to  candidates  presenting  degrees  issued 
by  official  institutions  of  higher  commercial  learning. 

(p)  Courses  of  ethics  in  preparatory  studies  and  lectures  on  com- 
mercial ethics  in  higher  institutions  of  commercial  learning  de- 
livered by  distinguished  professional  men  be  established. 

TRAINING   OF   TEACHERS. 

Uruguay  has  always  been  progressive  in  this  field.  In  1914 
Seiiorita  Leonor  Hourticou,  the  directress  of  the  Normal  Institute  for 
Girls,  submitted  to  the  national  inspector  of  primary  instruction  a 
far-reaching  and  systematic  plan  of  reform  in  the  aims  and  methods 
of  practice  teaching.  She  urged  the  establishment  of  a  general  direc- 
torate of  teachers'  practice  training,  composed  of  directors  of  normal 
institutes  and  the  national  technical  inspector  of  schools,  which  body 
was  to  operate  through  a  salaried  secretary.  Practice  teaching  for 
the  first  grade  was  to  be  required  for  one  year  with  a  minimum  of 
160  sessions  and  for  the  second  year  for  at  least  three  months  with 
a  minimum  number  of  60  sessions.  Twelve  schools  for  practice  teach- 
ing were  to  be  established  at  Montevideo.  Local  inspectors  were  to 
be  appointed  by  the  general  directorate.  While  this  scheme  was  not 
enacted  into  law,  yet  it  had  very  great  value  in  focusing  the  attention 
of  the  educational  authorities  upon  the  practical  problem  of  reor- 
ganizing practice  teaching. 

These  recommendations  were  allowed  to  lapse ;  but  along  with  the 
demand  for  improved  schools  went  a  similar  one  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  schools  in  towns  and  villages.  In  1916  a  committee  of 
which  the  directress  of  the  Normal  Institute  for  Girls  was  chairman 
was  appointed  to  formulate  a  training  course  for  nonrural  teachers 
which  should  be  in  keeping  with  the  recognized  needs  of  modern 
schools.  In  October,  1916,  it  presented  as  its  report  an  outline  of 
studies  recommended  to  be  incorporated  in  the  three  years'  training 
course,  for  primary  teachers. 

Taking  up  for  the  present  only  the  teachers  of  the  first  and  sec- 
ond grades,  the  committee  recommended  the  following  courses: 
Arithmetic,  accounting,  algebra,  applied  geometry,  penmanship  and 
drawing,  elements  of  biology,  zoology,  botany,  mineralogy  and 
geology,  anatomy,  physiology  and  hygiene,  physics  and  chemistry , 
studies  in  industries,  geography  and  cosmography,  history  (national, 
South  American,  and  universal),  constitutional  law,  sociology  and 
political  economy,  literature  and  composition,  French,  philosophy, 
and  pedagogy  with  practice  teaching.  By  the  approval  of  the  ex- 
ecutive these  courses  were  to  go  into  effect  in  September,  1917. 


URUGUAY.  55 

Training  of  rural  teachers. — Tlie  movement  to  improve  the  con- 
ditions of  rural  life  which  has  been  mentioned  before  began  in  earnest 
in  1914.  In  that  year  a  report  based  upon  an  intensive  study  of  the 
social  and  economic  needs  of  the  rural  districts  was  presented  to  the 
general  direction  of  primary  instruction  by  a  committee  of  teach- 
ers especially  appointed  for  that  purpose.  Though  no  official  action 
was  taken  at  the  time,  the  ventilation  of  the  subject  was  very  oppor- 
tune and  aroused  public  interest  in  a  field  so  vital  to  the  welfare  of 
the  nation.  In  every  phase  of  rural  education,  and  especially  in  the 
training  of  the  teachers  required,  practical  reforms  were  recognized 
as  urgently  necessary.  From  the  strictly  pedagogical  point  of  view, 
the  projects  for  teacher  training  as  laid  down  in  that  report  were  of 
supreme  interest,  as  constituting  the  basis  upon  which  all  subsequent 
suggestions  have  rested.  They  called  for  the  establishment  of  a  nor- 
mal school  exclusively  for  women  rural  teachers,  which  was  prefer- 
ably to  be  located  either  within  the  capital  city  or  within  easy  access 
of  it.  This  school  was  to  work  along  the  three  main  lines  of  agricul- 
ture, horticulture,  and  domestic  science.  For  admission  there  was 
to  be  required,  in  addition  to  the  usual  certificates  of  mental,  moral, 
and  physical  fitness,  the  certificate  of  completion  of  at  least  the  third 
year  of  the  program  of  the  rural  schools. 

The  courses  were  to  cover  at  least  two  years,  preferably  three,  with 
provision  for  four-year  courses  for  pupils  aspiring  to  the  post  of 
rural  inspectors,  an  aspiration  which  was  encouraged  in  the  report. 
Only  two  or  three  scholarships  were  to  be  offered  in  each  department, 
and  the  number  of  pupils  was  to  be  restricted  to  50  for  the  first  year. 
No  purely  theoretical  instruction  whatsoever  was  to  be  allowed.  In- 
creasingly specialized  work  in  the  practice  school  annexed  was  to  be 
required  of  every  pupil  each  year.  For  the  last  two  years  the  work 
of  practice  teaching  was  to  be  so  arranged  as  to  alternate  by  semes- 
ters with  the  classroom  work  assigned.  The  latter,  toward  the  end 
of  each  semester,  was  to  review  all  the  work  from  the  beginning. 

The  projected  institute  was  to  be  provided  with  all  grounds,  build- 
ings, and  equipment  necessary  for  the  teaching  of  every  phase  of 
rural. life,  including  the  care  of  fowls  and  cattle,  with  library  and 
laboratories,  with  a  modern  gymnasium,  with  a  hall  for  the  teaching 
of  the  fine  arts,  and,  most  important  of  all,  with  a  mixed  practice 
school  under  the  direction  of  the  authorities  of  the  institute,  consist- 
ing of  at  least  three  grades  and  preferably  four. 

Summer  courses  for  teachers,  both  men  and  women,  were  to  be 
offered,  emphasizing  practical  work  in  all  courses  related  to  rural 
life.  Traveling  schools  of  agriculture  were  outlined  to  appeal  es- 
pecially to  youths  of  years  beyond  the  rural  school  age  and  already 
engaged  in  farming,  each  class  to  have  not  less  than  8  pupils  and  not 
more  than  15.  and  to  continue  for  periods  ranging  from  one  week 


56  BIENNIAL  SURVEY  OF  EDUCATION,  1016-1918. 

to  two  months  according  to  the  demand  in  each  locality.  These 
traveling  schools  were  to  be  organized  for  the  same  unit  of  territory 
as  the  rural  schools  already  in  existence.  Each  course  was  to  be 
arranged  in  cycles  as  follows:  (1)  Three  years'  course  in  dairying; 
(2)  four  years'  course  in  domestic  science;  (3)  three  years'  course 
for  rural  teachers,  men-  and  women.  'Suitable  certificates  were  to  be 
awarded  students  satisfactorily  completing  these  courses. 

As  regards  the  courses  in  rural  schools,  the  committee  found  that 
the  advantages  accruing  did  not  justify  instructing  pupils  below  8 
years  of  age  in  formal  agriculture,  satisfactory  progress  being  made 
if  the  pupil  was  awakened  to  a  love  of  nature  and  an  interest  in  the 
life  of  the  farm.  Pupils  above  8  were  to  be  instructed  in  agricultural 
courses  progressively  adapted  to  their  maturity  and  to  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  locality,  soil,  and  climate. 

As  regards  courses  in  domestic  science,  though  the  subject  does 
not  permit  of  a  sharp  age  line  of  cleavage,  yet  the  youngest  girls 
might  most  profitably  be  given  the  elements,  while  the  older  girls 
might,  in  the  discretion  of  trained  teachers,  take  up  the  formal  and 
technical  study  of  food  values  in  connection  with  elementary  chemis- 
try, physiology,  and  biology. 

Anticipating  the  establishment  of  the  normal  schools  for  the 
exclusive  training  of  teachers  for  the  projected  rural  schools,  the 
executive  in  November,  1917,  sent  to  the  Congress,  along  with  the 
accompanying  message,  the  project  of  a  law  for  establishing  two  nor- 
mal schools  of  agriculture  in  the  Departments  of  Colonia  and  San 
Jose.  These  schools  were  intended  to  minister  to  the  special  need  of 
these  outlying  departments.  Their  courses  were  to  be  intensive  in 
character,  adapted  especially  to  the  training  of  teachers  for  these 
localities,  and  to  cover  a  year.  Indeed,  the  bill  specifically  mentioned 
their  purposes  as  intimately  related  with  the  forthcoming  rural 
schools.  The  bill  at  once  became  a  law,  and  the  schools  were  to  begin 
operation  in  March,  1918. 

HIGHER   EDUCATION. 

In  the  field  of  university  education  no  changes,  administrative  or 
instructional,  are  recorded  for  the  past  biennium ;  but  there  has  been 
a  certain  amount  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  administrative  govern- 
ment of  the  University  of  Montevideo.  In  September,  1918,  the 
executive  sent  to  the  Congress,  along  with  an  accompanying  mes- 
sage, the  project  of  a  law  clearly  defining  the  constitution  of  the 
directive  councils  of  the  several  faculties  of  the  University  of 
Montevideo  as  established  by  the  laws  of  1908  and  1915.  Conten- 
tion had  arisen  as  to  the  right  of  electing  representatives  to  each  of 
these  councils.  By  the  new  law  each  such  council  was  to  have  10 


VENEZUELA.  57 

members  and  a  clean.  In  the  faculty  of  law  four  of  these  were  to 
be  elected  by  the  attorneys  who  were  also  professors ;  four  attorneys 
to  be  selected  by  those  neither  professors  nor  substitutes;  one  minor 
attorney  by  those  neither  professors  nor  substitutes;  one  student 
delegate  by  the  students  themselves. 

In  the  faculty  of  medicine  four  members  were  to  be  elected  by  the 
professors,  substitutes,  and  chiefs  of  clinics  and  laboratories;  three 
members  to  be  elected  by  the  physicians  not  embraced  in  the  above 
categories;  one  member  to  be  elected  by  the  pharmacists;  and  one 
by  the  dentists  not  included  in  the  categories  above;  one  member  to 
be  elected  by  the  students  of  medicine,  pharmacy,  and  dentistry. 

In  the  faculty  of  engineering  four  members  were  to  be  elected  by 
the  professors  and  substitutes;  three  members  to  be  elected  by  the 
engineers ;  and  two  by  the  surveyors  who  were  neither  professors  nor 
substitutes ;  one  member  to  be  elected  by  the  students  of  engineering 
and  surveying. 

In  the  faculty  of  architecture  five  members  were  to  be  elected  by 
the  professors  and  substitutes ;  four  members  to  be  elected  by  archi- 
tects who  were  neither  professors  nor  substitutes ;  one  member  to  be 
elected  by  the  students  of  architecture. 

By  decrees  of  1917  enacted  into  law,  seven  years  of  advanced 
courses  were  required  for  the  degree  of  doctor  of  medicine  and  five 
years  for  the  degree  of  architect.  Special  courses  of  one  and  two 
years  in  construction  and  materials,  leading  to  certificates  but  not 
to  degrees,  were  formulated  and  allowed  by  the  ministry  of  public 
instruction. 

In  pursuance  of  the  policy  of  exchanging  professors  between  the 
various  countries  of  South  America  formulated  at  the  Pan  American 
Conference  held  at  Buenos  Aires  in  1910,  special  exchange  was 
arranged  with  Chile  in  1916. 


EDUCATION  IN  VENEZUELA. 

Primary  education  in  Venezuela,  during  the  biennium  under  con- 
sideration, has  enlisted  the  practical  interest  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment as  never  before.  This  has  taken  shape  primarily  in  the  two 
fundamental  administrative  decrees  of  the  Provisional  President,  Dr. 
Bustillos.  The  first,  issued  in  February,  1917,  outlines  the  general 
requirements  laid  down  in  the  organic  law  of  public  instruction 
under  certain  regulations  for  primary  public  schools.  These  are 
divided  into  three  main  heads:  (a)  The  primary  elementary  schools, 
in  which  only  those  subjects  belonging  to  compulsory  primary  in- 
struction are  tnught ;  (b)  higher  primary  schools,  in  which  are  taught 
the  subjects  belonging  to  higher  primary  instruction;  (c)  complete 


58  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

primary  schools,  in  which  •  instruction  is  given  in  both  the  above  divi- 
sions at  once. 

The  decree  requires  that  each  school  be  equipped  with  all  modern 
appliances  for  the  physical  well-being  of  the  pupils.  Children  are 
not  admitted  below  7  years  of  age ;  only  those  below  7  years  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  mothers'  schools  or  the  kindergartens ;  only  those  above 
14  are  admitted  to  the  schools  for  adults. 

The  subjects  required  in  the  elementary  primary  schools  are: 
Reading,  writing,  and  elements  of  Spanish;  elements  of  arithmetic 
and  the  metric  system ;  rudiments  of  geography  and  history  of  Vene- 
zuela; rudiments  of  ethics  and  civic  instruction;  rudiments  of  be- 
havior and  hygiene;  the  national  hymn  and  school  songs;  the  first 
elements  of  manual  arts,  and,  for  girls,  of  sewing. 

In  the  higher  primary  schools  are  taught  the  following :  Elements 
of  Spanish  grammar,  elementary  arithmetic,  metric  system,  geog- 
raphy and  history  of  Venezuela,  elements  of  universal  geography 
and  history,  elementary  science,  ethical  and  civic  instruction,  behavior 
and  elementary  hygiene,  elements  of  drawing  and  music,  manual 
arts  and  elements  of  agriculture  and  cattle  raising  for  boys,  sewing 
and  domestic  economy  for  girls,  gymnastic  exercises. 

Religious  instruction  is  imparted  to  pupils  whose  parents  or 
guardians  require  it,  provided  that  the  number  of  such  be  at  least  10. 
The  celebration  of  school  festivals  as  required  by  law,  the  establish- 
ment of  libraries  in  each  school  accessible  to  both  pupils  and  teach- 
ers, and  the  keeping  of  books  and  registers  by  teachers  and  directors 
are  among  the  general  provisions  emphasized  in  the  regulations. 

The  second  decree,  issued  by  the  Provisional  President  in  July, 
1917,  sets  forth  the  regulations  for  the  official  inspection  of  public 
instruction.  It  expressly  concerns  the  following  schools : 

1.  Those  maintained  or  aided  by  the  Federal  Union. 

2.  Those  of  primary,  secondary,  and  normal  instruction,  main- 
tained or  aided  by  the  States  or  by  the  municipalities. 

3.  Public  and  private  schools  satisfying  legal  requirements  of  good 
conduct  and  school  hygiene. 

The  official  inspection  of  schools  has  its  ultimate  authority 
vested  in  the  following  grades  of  functionaries : 

1.  Committees    (juntas)    constituted   by  law   in   localities  main- 
taining a  school. 

2.  Technical  inspectors  of  primary,  secondary,   and  normal  in- 
struction for  the  Federal  District  and  the  States  of  the  Union. 

3.  A  superintendent  for  the  Federal  District. 

4.  Inspectors  necessary  for  the  operation  of  higher  and  special 
instruction. 

5.  Commissioners  appointed  for  special  educational  cases. 


VENEZUELA.  59 

The  duties  and  responsibilities  imposed  by  law  upon  the  juntas 
of  primary  instruction  are  detailed  at  greatest  length,  as  upon  them 
rests  the  proper  execution  of  the  law  and  the  success  of  the  entire 
system.  Most  important  of  all  these  duties  are  those  pertaining  to 
the  enforcement  of  compulsory  primary  instruction.  The  juntas 
are  required  to  keep  themselves  informed  of  the  primary  instruction 
imparted  to  all  children  of  school  age  in  their  district,  whether  in 
schools  public  or  private  or  at  home;  to  require  all  parents  and 
guardians  of  children  of  school  age  to  have  such  children  instructed 
as  required  by  law;  to  keep  themselves  informed  of  the  progress  of 
all  such  children ;  to  impose  fines  as  required  by  law  upon  all  parents 
or  guardians  who  neglect  the  instruction  of  children ;  to  see  that  the 
children  admitted  to  schools  of  all  grades  conform  in  age,  state  of 
health,  etc.,  to  the  requirements  of  the  law;  to  visit  the  schools  in 
their  district  frequently  and  regularly;  and  to  keep  registers  of  all 
facts  pertaining  to  the  attendance  upon  such  schools. 

The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  inspectoral  juntas  of  sec- 
ondary instruction  and  those  of  normal  instruction  are  full  and  ex- 
acting and  along  the  lines  already  laid  down. 

The  technical. inspectors  as  a  group  have  charge  of  all  three  grades 
of  instruction,  each  in  the  district  assigned  to  him.  As  fixed  by 
ministerial  decree,  there  are  10  of  these,  excluding  the  superintend- 
ent for  the  Federal  District.  These  functionaries  are  the  direct 
agents  of  the  ministry  of  public  instruction,  and  form  the  connecting 
link  between  that  office  and  the  local  juntas.  They  are  vested  with 
complete  power  to  compel  the  execution  of  the  law  by  the  local 
juntas  under  penalties  prescribed  by  law.  They  are  instructed  to 
work  in  complete  harmony  with  the  juntas,  to,  call  meetings,  and 
to  outline  to  them  their  duties  under  the  law.  They  are  also  required 
to  instruct  teachers  in  their  duties.  In  short,  the  inspectors  are  the 
element  upon  which  the  successful  working  of  the  machinery  of  the 
-regulations  depends. 

The  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  the  Federal  District 
is  directly  under  the  authority  of  the  minister  of  education. 

The  inspectors  of  higher  and  special  instruction  have  duties  and 
responsibilities  analogous  to  those  of  the  inspectors  already  men- 
tioned, though  these,  for  obvious  reasons,  are  not  outlined  at  such 
length. 

In  the  field  of  primary  instruction  the  interest  aroused  in  rural 
schools  has  been  the  most  marked  feature  in  the  past  biennium.  The 
ministry  of  public  instruction  has  paid  special  attention  to  the  project 
of  establishing  rural  schools,  fixed  or  traveling,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  main  manufacturing,  industrial,  or  commercial  centers  of  the 
country,  and  the  President  by  decree  of  July,  1917,  in  commending 


60  BIENNIAL  SURVEY   OF   EDUCATION,  1916KL918. 

the  project,  urged  upon  the  juntas  wherever  possible  to  develop  this 
type  of  schools.  Especially  in  the  agricultural  or  cattle-raising  sec- 
tions was  the  project  received  with  enthusiasm,  applying,  as  it  did, 
directly  to  the  problems  of  illiteracy  and  the  training  of  the  country 
population  in  practical  subjects  related  to  daily  life.  By  special 
decree  the  President  urged  the  introduction  of  elementary  courses  in 
agriculture  in  the  established  schedule  of  studies. 

Among  the  States  which  definitely  established  such  schools  the 
State  of  Trujillo,  fourth  in  population,  took  the  lead  by  establishing 
14,  with  predominant  emphasis  upon  practical  courses  in  agriculture 
and  related  subjects.  Such  schools  began  at  once  to  serve  as  centers 
for  the  instruction  not  only  of  the  children  of  school  age  but  of  the 
population  generally  in  new  methods,  the  use  of  machines,  cooperative 
societies,  etc.  Similarly  in  sections  devoted  to  cattle  raising  they 
were  centers  of  inspiration  and  instruction  in  related  subjects. 

During  the  last  biennium  the  industrial  plants  located  in  the  cen- 
ters of  Venezuela  have  established  primary  schools  for  the  children 
of  their  operatives,  with  the  approval  of  the  authorities,  State  and 
municipal.  The  minister  of  public  instruction,  in  his  memoria  for 
1918,  urge  upon  the  Congress  the  passage  of  a  law  recognizing  the 
work  of  these  schools,  arranging  for  their  inspection  by  the  govern- 
mental technical  inspectors  and  the  classification  and  certification  of 
pupils  completing  the  courses  offered  in  them.  Such  schools  have 
also  done  much  in  combating  the  illiteracy  among  adults  by  means 
of  night  schools,  and  they  have  in  many  places,  by  employing  excel- 
lent teachers,  served  the  very  useful  purpose  of  raising  the  standard 
of  requirement  in  various  districts  for  the  public  schools,  State  or 
municipal. 

Secondary  education  in  Venezuela,  according  to  the  memoria 
referred  to,  suffers  much  from  the  insufficiency  and  irregularity  of  the 
revenues  devoted  to  it,  with  the  consequent  inefficient  equipment  for 
modern  and  scientific  subjects  and  the  inadequate  salaries  of  tha 
teachers.  On  the  pedagogical  side  the  memoria  found  the  effects 
experienced  by  secondary  education  from  the  mechanical  and  memory 
instruction,  too  largely  prevalent  in  primary  education,  a  permanent 
obstacle  to  any  hope  of  real  reform  in  secondary  education. 

The  colegios,  a  type  of  secondary  school  peculiar  to  the  Spanish- 
American  countries,  of  grade  preparatory  to  the  liceos,  seem  to  be 
disappearing  from  Venezuelan  education.  There  are  now  left  only 
13  Federal  colegios,  all  the  others  maintained  by  the  States  and 
municipalities  having  lapsed.  The  explanation  probably  lies  in  the 
exaggerated  theoretical  instruction  they  offered  and  its  lack  of 
adaptation  to  the  actual  needs  of  the  nation.  A  number  of  them 
occupied  buildings  of  some  size  and  pretension,  and  the  minister  in 


KZUELA.  61 

his  last  memcria  suggested  that  the  vocational  and  industrial  schools 
needed  in  the  educational  system  might  well  be  installed  in  these 
buildings. 

Interest  in  the  education  of  girls  has  made  progress  in  Venezuela, 
an  especially  promising  liceo  for  girls  having  been  established  at 
Caracas,  offering  advanced  courses  covering  two  years,  with  special 
attention  to  physical  training  and  modern  subjects. 

Education  in  arts  and  crafts  for  men  has  long  been  popular  in 
Venezuela,  perhaps  largely  because  of  the  national  talent  in  those 
subjects.  The  school  at  Caracas,  established  in  1916,  offers  a  four- 
year  course,  with  English  as  the  only  foreign  language.  Within 
two  years  it  reached  an  enrollment  of  288  in  the  regular  classes  and 
213  in  the  night  courses. 

Commercial  education  and  training  in  political  science  courses 
have  grown  in  popularity  during  the  last  biennium.  Schools  of  the 
former  have  been  established  at  Caracas,  Maracaibo,  Ciudad  Bolivar, 
and  Puerto  Cabello ;  and  of  the  latter,  at  Caracas,  subsidized  by  the 
Government  and  regarded  as  an  important  adjunct  in  training 
for  the  legal  profession. 

In  the  field  of  the  primary  normal  schools,  the  ministry  has  seen 
the  necessity  of  their  serving  more  largely  the  educational  needs  of 
the  nation  by  supplying  more  and  better  teachers  to  the  schools.  It 
is,  therefore,  proposed  to  revise  them  thoroughly,  especially  in  re- 
gard to  the  chief  defect  observed  since  their  establishment,  namely, 
the  poor  preparation  of  students  who  enter.  It  is  proposed  to  offer, 
preparatory  to  the  normal  school  proper,  a  perfecting  course  in  essen- 
tials covering  two  or  three  years,  to  which  would  be  added  French, 
drawing,  gymnastics,  and  music.  Such  a  course  would  preferably 
be  offered  in  the  higher  primary  schools.  The  pupil  should  then  pro- 
ceed to  the  specialized  subjects  of  pedagogy,  methodology,  psychol- 
ogy, and  the  history  of  education,  these  subjects  to  cover  one  year. 

Another  serious  problem  is  the  great  difficulty  experienced  in  secur- 
ing suitable  candidates  for  the  scholarships  offered  in  the  primary 
normal  schools  by  the  several  'States  and  Territories.  In  many  of 
them  the  memoria  reports  that  the  appointments  had  to  lapse  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  no  candidates  qualified  for  them.  The  min- 
ister therefore  suggested  that  a  system  of  boarding  departments, 
annexed  to  the  normal  schools,  each  accommodating  about  20  boys 
of  10  to  13  years,  should  be  established  as  feeders-to  the  normal 
school  system. 

By  presidential  decree,  dated  July,  1917,  special  courses  in  prac- 
tical agriculture,  horticulture,  floriculture,  and  domestic  sciences 
were  established  in  the  primary  normal  schools,  with  the  view  of 
especially  equipping  teachers  for  the  rural  schools,  whose  establish- 
nrent  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  so  necessary  for  the  nation. 


62  BIENNIAL  SITHVEY   OF   EDUCATION,   1916-1918. 

By  presidential  decree  of  March,  1917,  an  experimental  station  of 
agriculture  and  forestry,  with  an  acclimatization  garden,  was  estab- 
lished near  Caracas.  It  is  intended  to  serve  as  a  model  for  other 
such  stations  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  "  The  objects  of  the  sta- 
tion are  the  improvement  of  the  methods  of  cultivation  of  the  chief 
agricultural  products  of  Venezuela;  the  introduction,  selection,  and 
distribution  of  seeds;  experiments  in  reforestation;  the  suitability  of 
soils  to  crops  and  of  crops  to  various  regions;  and  practical  work 
for  the  training  of  agricultural  foremen  and  forest  rangers." 

o 


lomount 


Pamphlet 

Binder 
[      Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 

Stockton,  Calif 
pAT.  JAN  21.  |908 


r  i* 


